The Gannon volleyball team punched its ticket to the PSAC Championship by defeating No. 3 seed Pitt-Johnstown on Friday evening inside Koehler Fieldhouse.

The No. 1 seed in the PSAC West will now make its ninth appearance in the final as the Golden Knights pursue the fifth conference crown in program history. 

With the win, Gannon is now 3–0 this season against the Mountain Cats.

"It's a great feeling to be moving on, and once again, we had big contributions from lots of people. I could shout out several, but Brooke gave us a huge lift in set two, and Alexis played great defense down the stretch," said head coach Matt Darling. "We struggled to block Pittsburgh-Johnstown tonight, but Bengisu and the offense made enough points to get the win."

THE GAME FACTS
Score: Gannon 3, Pitt-Johnstown 1 (26–28, 25–21, 25–16, 25–17)
Records: Gannon 24–6 • Pitt-Johnstown 17–11
Location: Koehler Fieldhouse (East Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Date: November 21, 2025

THE KNIGHT CAP
UPJ Strikes First: The Mountain Cats claimed the opening set 28–26 before Gannon responded with three straight frames to take the match.
Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) Delivers Again: Powered the offense with 19 kills, hitting .349 while adding two service aces and six digs.
Atwell & Williams Steady on the Pins: Lauren Atwell (Mars, Pa./Mars Area) posted 15 kills (.310), and Abbey Williams (Chicago, Ill./Mother Mcauley Liberal Arts) added 13 kills (.324).
Nehir Stays Hot: Nehir Yazicioglu (Ankara, Turkey) chipped in nine kills, hit .304, and tallied 13 digs and two aces.
Arslan Runs the Show: Bengisu Arslan (Ankara, Turkey/Private Çankaya Doga Anatolian) handed out 56 assists, directing Gannon to a .288 team hitting percentage.
Defensive Spark: Alexis Fowler (Cranberry Township, PA/Eden Christian Academy) anchored the back row with 17 digs.
Brooke Gwiazda's (Frankfort, Ill./Peotone) Set-Two Lift: Delivered four kills on eight swings (.375) to help change the momentum.
Strong Finish: Gannon dominated late, hitting .439 in set three and .367 in set four to close the match.
Ellie Zuro Cirino's Big Night: UPJ's top attacker led all players with 21 kills in the match.
 
 Up Next
Gannon returns to the PSAC Championship on Saturday, November 22, at 5 p.m. at East Stroudsburg, aiming to capture the fifth PSAC title in program history.

This story was written using the support of AI.