WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Gannon volleyball team split a pair of three-set matches on Saturday, winning one in dominant fashion and losing another in three extremely close sets.
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Coach
Matt Darling's Golden Knights swept West Virginia State 25-17, 25-14, 25-14 in its first match on Saturday in the Atlantic Regional Crossover at West Liberty University's Alma Grace McDonough Center. The Knights then dropped three two-point matches to host West Liberty by scores of 30-28, 25-23, 25-23.
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Gannon moved to 7-5 after going 2-2 in the Atlantic Regional Crossover. GU lost to Wheeling on Thursday and defeated Fairmont State on Friday.
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"It's been a long weekend for us, and we were lucky to get out of here with two wins," Darling said. "With just one exception, our opponents had great energy and played their hearts out. Â Our team, by contrast, just couldn't seem to get it going, especially against West Liberty.
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"As bad as things went on the court, I didn't help the situation with the red card. I feel badly about the fact that my tired and frustrated team needed composure from me, and I didn't provide it. A big part of that loss is on me."
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Gannon 3, West Virginia State 0: Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) had 10 kills,
Carissa Treser (Sewickley, Pa./North Allegheny) added nine, and
Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) collected as all three continued their hot play at the Crossover matches.
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Junior setter
Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) dished out 28 assists, while
Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had a team-high 15 digs and
Lara Toruner (Istanbul, Turkey/Terakki Foundation) had five digs.
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Sorenson added five blocks.
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West Liberty 3, Gannon 0: Gannon fought off three match points after falling behind 24-21 in the first set. The Golden Knights then had three set points themselves but each time the Hilltoppers fought them off. With the score tied 28-28, Ashley Cudnik put away two of her 15 kills to clinch the set.
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In the second set,
Lauren Atwell's (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) kill tied the match 23-23, but Cudnik put WLU ahead 24-23 and Adrienne Staib's kill clinched the set. Cudnik's then kill clinched the final set after Gannon thwarted one match point.
Koch, Sorenson, and
Nehir Yazicioglu (Ankara, Turkey/) had nine kills each for Gannon. Arslan led the way with 35 assists, and Hall added 22 digs. Atwell collected five blocks.
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What's ahead:
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Gannon will return to Hagerty Family Events Center on Friday at 7 p.m., when it hosts IUP in a PSAC West opener.
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