CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The No. 23 Gannon volleyball team wrapped up play at the Cedarville Invitational on Saturday with a four-set loss to No. 24 Missouri-St. Louis at the Callan Athletic Center.
The Golden Knights dropped the first two sets by identical 25-15 scores before battling back to take a tightly contested third set, 26-24. Missouri-St. Louis answered by holding off Gannon 25-23 in the fourth to secure the 3-1 victory. The Golden Knights finished a challenging season-opening weekend that featured a pair of nationally ranked opponents with a 1-2 record.
"It wasn't really a good weekend for us overall, but the team should at least be proud of the effort they showed in coming back to win last night," head coach
Matt Darling said. "Another possible benefit is that we saw a lot of weaknesses exposed, so we know what to work on."
THE GAME FACTS
Score: No. 24 Missouri-St. Louis 3, No. 23 Gannon 1 (25-15, 25-15, 24-26, 25-23)
Records: Gannon 1-2 | Missouri-St. Louis 2-1
Location: Callan Athletic Center | Cedarville, Ohio
Date: August 29, 2026
THE KNIGHT CAP
- Williams Leads the Attack: Abbey Williams (Chicago, Ill./Mother Mcauley Liberal Arts) paced the Golden Knights with 15 kills while adding 14 digs and two block assists. She was the lone Gannon player to reach double figures in kills.
- Williams' Big Weekend: Williams led Gannon with 48 kills (3.69 per set) over the three-match weekend while adding 36 digs and six blocks. She also led the Golden Knights with six service aces as Gannon totaled 25 aces over the three matches.
- Fowler on Defense: Alexis Fowler (Cranberry Township, PA/Eden Christian Academy) turned in a match-high 24 digs against UMSL. She finished the weekend with a team-high 67 digs (5.15 per set) along with four service aces.
- Running the Offense: Ava Gainer (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) handed out 34 assists to go with 12 digs, two kills and three service aces. She finished the weekend with 120 assists (9.23 per set), 28 digs and eight blocks.
- Third-Set Success: Gannon won the third set in all three matches at the Cedarville Invitational, including Saturday's 26-24 victory over No. 24 Missouri-St. Louis.
- Third-Set Response: After falling behind two sets to none, Gannon battled through a third set that featured seven ties. The Golden Knights broke a 24-24 deadlock on consecutive UMSL attack errors, with Sydney Wake (Massillon, Ohio/Jackson) and Brooke Gwiazda (Frankfort, Ill./Peotone) combining for a block on set point to secure the 26-24 win.
- Battle to the Finish: Gannon trailed 16-13 in the fourth before scoring three straight points to tie the set. The Golden Knights later pulled even at 21-21 and 23-23, but UMSL scored the final two points for the 25-23 victory.
- From the Service Line: The Golden Knights recorded nine service aces against UMSL, with Gainer leading the way with three and Fowler adding two.
Up Next
Gannon returns to Erie for the Gannon Invitational at the Highmark Events Center on Sept. 4-5. The Golden Knights open play on Friday, Sept. 4 against Malone at 12:15 p.m. before facing Wayne State at 7 p.m. inside the Highmark Events Center.
This story was written with the support of AI.
