The Gannon University women´s volleyball team was handed its first loss of 2018 in a 3-0 defeat against East Stroudsburg Friday night at Koehler Fieldhouse.
The Knights bounced back from their first setback of the season with a 3-0 sweep against Kutztown Saturday afternoon.
It was Gannon’s first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference victory of the season and left the team 12-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play going into Friday’s home debut at 7 p.m. against Millersville in the Hammermill Center.
In Saturday´s victory, Gannon received contributions from throughout the lineup offensively. Ashley Kerestes led the team with nine kills, followed by Johanna Gregory with eight kills and Laura Bebinger and Lauren Sampson each added seven kills.
The Knights used back-to-back kills from senior Lexi Johnson and freshman Ashley McClung to take a 4-3 lead in the first set. A 5-1 run for Gannon put the Knights in front 17-12.
Gannon eventually scored five of the last six points in the first set for a 25-16 victory. A service ace from Toni Leitshuh handed Gannon a 5-2 edge in the second set, and the team pulled ahead 18-15 with a kill from Sampson.
The Knights scored the last four points of the second set for a 25-21 victory and a 2-0 match lead.
After some back-and-forth action in the third set, Kerestes smacked a kill to put Gannon up 10-8. The Knights used a 6-1 scoring run for an 18-15 set lead, highlighted by a pair of kills from Kerestes. Gannon scored the last two points of the match for a 25-22 set victory.
Despite Friday´s loss, the match was extremely competitive with 24 ties and 10 lead changes. The second set saw 15 ties and seven total lead changes.
Gannon opened the first set with a kill by Lexi Johnson, but East Stroudsburg scored the next seven points for a quick 7-1 lead. The Knights ripped off a five-point run in the first set but trailed 17-16.
Gannon tied the first set at 18 but ESU took a narrow lead and maintained it for the remainder of the set for a 25-22 victory.
Kills from Aubree Lanman and Sampson and a 6-1 scoring spurt helped the Knights pull into a 22-22 tie in the second set.
The Knights extended the set on two separate occasions before ESU collected a narrow 29-27 extended-set victory. The Warriors closed out the Knights with a 25-21 third-set victory.
McClung and Sampson each had 11 kills to pace Gannon, and Sampson added four aces.
Saturday´s game concluded a 13-match road swing to begin the season. Following Friday’s home opener, the Knights will entertain West Chester in a 2 p.m. match Saturday at the Hammermill Center.
