Inside the Highmark Events Center, the PSAC West-leading Golden Knights and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference-leading Yellow Jackets went point-for-point in a four-set battle that featured thirty-eight tie scores and eighteen lead changes throughout the afternoon.

The Golden Knights earned a 26–24 victory in the second set and forced extra points in the fourth, but Cedarville's offensive efficiency proved to be the difference late.

Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) led the attack with a career-high 16 kills, while Abbey Williams (Chicago, Ill./Mother Mcauley Liberal Arts),  Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area), and Kasey Smith (Meadville, Pa./Villa Maria) also reached double figures in the kill column.

Smith delivered a season-high 10 kills on .421 hitting while adding five block assists to help stabilize the offense through the middle sets.

"I'm never going to be the coach who is okay with a loss, especially when there were plenty of opportunities for victory; but hopefully we learned some things from Cedarville, a really good team that put on an offensive clinic all afternoon. We couldn't stop them. Although the defense wasn't good, we had a good offensive performance by our middles and Sydney," said head coach Matt Darling.

THE GAME FACTS
Cedarville 3, Gannon 1 (25–19, 24–26, 25–21, 29–27)
Records: Gannon 17–5 (8–0 PSAC West), Cedarville 15–5 (7–1 Great Midwest Athletic Conference)
Location: Highmark Events Center (Erie, Pa.)
Date: October 25, 2025
 
THE KNIGHT CAP

• Four in Double Figures: Gannon put four attackers into double-digit kills, led by Sydney Wake's (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) career-high 16 kills.
• Season High for Smith: Kasey Smith (Meadville, Pa./Villa Maria) delivered a season-high 10 kills on .421 hitting, adding five block assists at the net.
• Steady Contributions: Abbey Williams (Chicago, Ill./Mother Mcauley Liberal Arts) and Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) each added 10 kills, while Nehir Yazicioglu (Ankara, Turkey) supplied eight kills and four blocks.
• Running the Offense: Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) directed the attack with 50 assists, three aces, and seven digs.
• Set Drama: The fourth set alone featured seven tie scores and pushed to extra points (29–27).
• Match Flow: Across the match, there were thirty-eight total tie scores and eighteen lead changes.

UP NEXT
Gannon returns to PSAC West action on Friday, October 31, traveling to Pitt-Johnstown. First serve is set for 6:00 PM.

This story was written using the support of AI.