GOLDEN, Colo. – Gannon women's volleyball coach Matt Darling wanted to use a tough early season schedule to measure where his Golden Knights are going into the season.
 
After back-to-back losses to No. 17 Colorado Mesa and Michigan Tech on Friday, Darling knows his Gannon team has work to do if it hopes to once again round into championship form.
 
"There were some good things about our play today, and we'll try to build on that," Darling said. "The competition was really strong; Mesa and Tech really showed me that I didn't do enough to get us prepared for the season – they were ahead of us in almost every aspect of the game, and that's probably my fault.  We'll get better from here."
 
Colorado Mesa swept Gannon 25-17, 25-23, 25-20 in the opening match of the season in the Oredigger Volleyball Classic, hosted by the Colorado School of Mines at Lockridge Arena. Gannon then dropped a 3-1 match to Michigan Tech (10-25, 24-26, 26-24, 17-25) in the evening matchup.
 

What happened:

The No. 17 Colorado Mesa team simply outhit the Golden Knights, collecting 51 kills to Gannon's 25. Mesa also had a hitting percentage of .288 compared to GU's .149.

Against Michigan Tech, Gannon regrouped after losing a lopsided 25-10 first set. After losing the second set 26-24, the Knights stayed alive by winning the third set 26-24. However, Michigan Tech capped the win with a 25-17 effort in the fourth set.
 

By the Numbers:

Senior outside hitter Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) led Gannon with 27 kills – 11 in the first match and 16 in the second.

Senior right side Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) recorded 12 kills in the second match.

Junior setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) had 55 assists on the day, including 32 against Michigan Tech.

Senior libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had 18 digs in the two matches, while Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) accounted for 11 blocks, including six in the second match.
 

What's ahead:

Gannon will face host Colorado School of Mines at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will close the event against No 5-ranked Concordia-St. Paul at 5 p.m.