WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL FINAL SCORE
WHEELING CARDINALS DEF GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 15-6
Records: Gannon 5-4, Wheeling 4-6
 
WHEELING, W.Va. – The Gannon women's volleyball team ran out of comebacks in the fifth set on Thursday despite a strong all-around effort in the first match of Gannon's four-match week.
 
Gannon fell behind two sets to none but rallied to win the third and fourth sets. However, Wheeling pulled away in the fifth set to claim a 15-6 victory and the 3-2 win in a PSAC-MEC Crossover match at Wheeling's Alma Grace McDonough Center.
 
The loss ended Gannon's four-set winning streak as the Golden Knights moved to 5-4. Wheeling, which has faced several nationally ranked teams early in the season, improved to 4-6. Gannon also had a three-match win streak vs. Wheeling snapped.
 
"I don't know exactly what to feel about the match tonight. On one hand, we had some athletes rise to the challenge and play well. I honestly felt like we were going to win, even when we were down," Gannon coach Matt Darling said. "But fifth sets, with higher stakes, can bring out the best or worst in players, and tonight we fell apart under the pressure of the moment. But credit Wheeling for their effort and performance, too. Even though we basically gave them free balls in the fifth set, they executed their offense without a flaw. They deserved to win, and they did."
 
Gannon had numerous strong performances in the marathon match. Senior middle blocker Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) had a career-high 16 kills, and sophomore Carissa Treser (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) collected a career-high 15 kills. Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) also had 16 kills. Meanwhile, junior setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) tied her career-best mark with 56 assists.
 
GU senior libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) finished with 28 digs as she moved within 12 of Gannon's career digs record.
 

What happened:

The first two sets were extremely close, but in each case, Wheeling was able to pull away for a 25-21 win.
 
Gannon did not relent, though. Sorenson, Koch, and Treser began to assert themselves offensively as they led the Golden Knights to 25-19 and 25-22 wins in the next two sets.
 
Wheeling led GU just 8-6 in the fifth set before the Cardinals scored the final seven points to secure the match victory.
 
 
By the numbers:
 
Sorenson topped her previous personal best for kills by one. She also was outstanding defensively as she had one solo block and nine block assists. Koch had eight block assists as Gannon finished with a 16-6 advantage in blocks.
 
Treser's previous career high of eight kills came on Saturday against D'Youville. She also had her first double-double on Thursday as she collected 12 digs, also a career high.
 
Arslan matched her previous career high of 56 assists, which she previously reached against Edinboro on Sept. 24, 2022. She also had 17 digs on Thursday.
 
Hall now has 1,991 career digs and trails Taryn Graham (2,003 digs, 2011-14) by just 12 on Gannon's all-time list.
 
Katie Wilking had 19 kills for Wheeling, and Karly Niesen dished out 55 assists.
 
 
What's ahead:
 
Gannon will meet Fairmont State on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Wheeling's gym.