Gannon hit the road over the weekend but was swept in three games by both Clarion and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The Knights lost 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 to the Golden Eagles of Clarion (19-14, 15-6 PSAC) Friday and fell 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 to IUP (17-13, 9-13) Saturday.
Although the team ended the regular season on two losses, Gannon compiled a solid 22-7 record overall and a 15-7 PSAC mark.
Gannon coach Matt Darling found it difficult to explain the past two performances but recognizes that the Knights’ opponents came out strong and hit Gannon in a weak spot.
“We need to try to address some of our weaknesses,” he said. “At a certain point, it boils down to execution on the court. We need to be better.”
In the game at Clarion, the Eagles were ahead most of the game but Gannon fought hard throughout.
“We were never really in this match,” Darling said. “We were six to 10 points down the entire night, and mostly Clarion did whatever they wanted to do.”
Junior outside hitter Hannah Kren added a team-high of 13 kills to her list, giving her 1,216 in her career. Kren ranks 10th all-time in career kills.
Senior middle blocker Lynne Hibbard remains ranked ninth for Gannon’s all-time block assists and third all-time in total blocks.
Senior defensive specialist/ setter Morgan Walters tallied a team-high 21 assists against Clarion and senior right side/outside hitter Kayla Knickerbocker recorded three blocks.
Walters admitted that the team was off and that the Knights weren’t playing as they should have.
“We didn’t play to our potential,” she said.
In the match against IUP, sophomore defensive specialist Sara Crandall thought the team was off again and played at a level lesser than they are capable.
“We didn’t play up to our potential so we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted but we are ready to move on,” she said.
Kren led the Knights with a team-high of 14 kills against the Crimson Hawks.
Walters also had a strong showing with a team-high 26 assists, while junior middle blocker Lauren Beck delivered four blocks.
Darling broke it down to two key areas that impacted the losses: opponent’s performance and Gannon’s performance.
“Part of it, no doubt, is that our opponents were good, as IUP was today,” he said. “Part of it is our poor play, though.”
BRANDON JACES
