GOLDEN, Colo. – The Gannon volleyball team earned its first win of the season and showed significant improvement on Saturday while going 1-1 on the second day of the Oredigger Volleyball Classic.
 
Gannon swept host Colorado School of Mines 25-16, 25-20, 25-13 before losing 3-1 to No. 5-ranked Concordia-St. Paul (21-25, 16-25, 25-20, 18-25). However, Gannon's play improved on Day 2 after the Golden Knights absorbed a couple of losses on the opening day on Friday. Gannon completed the two-day tournament with a 1-3 record.
 
 "Today's performance felt much better than yesterday's, and we saw some more positive numbers on the scoreboard as well as on the stat sheet," Gannon coach Matt Darling said. "We won't come home with many wins, but I think the experience we gained from the weekend will help us moving forward. We'll get better."
 
Senior outside hitter Journey Blevins (Richwood, Ohio/North Union) and senior middle blocker Ali Sorenson (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln Way East) led Gannon with 22 kills apiece in the two matches, while junior setter Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) compiled 63 assists, and senior libero Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) had 42 digs.
 

What happened:

Gannon regrouped overnight after losing 3-0 to No. 17 Colorado Mesa and 3-1 to Michigan Tech on Friday. The Golden Knights dominated against the Orediggers, hitting a remarkable .609 in the first set with 15 kills and just one error on the way to a 25-16 win. The Knights hit an outstanding .376 for the match with 42 kills and just 10 attack errors.
 
Gannon played tremendous defense, limiting the Orediggers to just a .091 hitting percentage.
 
Against powerhouse Concordia-St. Paul, a program with nine national titles, Gannon played tough but lost the first two sets. The Knights then made a stand in the third set and pulled out a 25-20 win the third set. Gannon stayed close throughout most of the fourth set and trailed 20-18 before Concordia scored the final five points to secure the victory.
 

By the numbers:

Emma Hall (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) continued her climb toward Gannon's career digs record. She had 16 digs against Colorado School of Mines and 26 against Concordia. That gives Hall 60 digs for the season and 1,870 for her career. She ranks fourth in Gannon history, trailing only Sara Crandall (1,872 digs, 2014-17), Toni Leitshuh (1,884 digs, 2016-19), and record holder Taryn Graham (2,003 digs, 2011-14).
 
Arslan continued her solid play at setter with 32 digs in the first match and 31 in the second.
 
Sorenson led Gannon with 13 kills against the Orediggers, while Blevins had 12 and Hailey Koch (Littleton, Col./Dakota Ridge) added 10. Against Concordia, Blevins had 10 kills and Sorenson added nine.
 
Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) had a fine defensive outing in the first match, collecting seven digs.
 
All-American setter Teagan Starkey recorded 56 assists for Concordia.
 

What's ahead:

Gannon will play its home opener on Wednesday at 6 p.m. when it faces Ashland at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center.