The Gannon University women’s volleyball team posted a 3-1 record in the 2013 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Crossover play, which was held Friday and Saturday.
The tournament was held in Johnstown at the Pitt-Johnstown Sport Center. The first match the Knights played was against the host Ladycats.
The Golden Knights were able to pull out a 3-2 win. The first set saw a score of 25-19 for the Ladycats.
The Knights won the second set, 25-20, the third win went back to the Ladycats with 25-21, and then back to Gannon in the fourth set, 25-19. In the fifth set, Gannon dug deep and managed to grab that last win with a score of 15-12.
Freshman Hannah Kren had a career-high 21 kills and five digs against Pitt-Johnstown.
Junior Emily Carver captured 14 kills, two solo blocks and four block assists. Meanwhile, sophomore Kayla Knickerbocker had 12 kills, two digs and three block assists.
Later that evening, the Knights stepped onto the court for their second match against the Shippensburg Raiders. Gannon came out strong and took the first set , 25-21.
However, the rest of the match belonged to the Raiders. The second set ended with a score of 25-23, and both of the last two sets shared the score of 25-22.
While the Knights may not have won this match, Kren saw a double-double with 18 kills and 11 digs. Junior Taryn Graham had 21 digs and junior Megan Wendel had 41 assists and 14 digs.
Sophomore Lynne Hibbard had three solo blocks and three block assists. The loss left the Knights with a PSAC record of 7-4.
During the second day of the PSAC East/West Crossover, the Knights were set to play two matches. The first came against Lock Haven, and the Knights came out on top with a 3-2 win.
The first set belonged to the Lady Eagles, with a score of 25-23. Gannon took the second set with a score of 25-21; however, the Lady Eagles managed to take one more set at 26-24.
After the third set, Gannon took control of the match. The fourth set was 29-27 and the fifth was 15-11.
In this match, Kren once again led the team with a double-double of 20 kills and 14 digs. Junior outside hitter Maggie Desrosiers also held a double-double with 16 kills and 19 digs.
Wendel had 57 assists, which tied her career high. Graham had 22 digs.
The last match of the tournament was between the Knights and the Millersville Marauders. Gannon was able to once again come out victorious, 3-1.
The Knights came out strong for the first set, winning with a score of 25-19. However, the Marauders did manage to take one set with a score of 25-22.
The rest of the match was all Gannon; the third set saw a score of 25-23 and the fourth 30-28. Desrosiers had another solid effort with 16 kills and nine digs. Kren managed to get another double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs. Carver had 12 kills and Graham had 22 digs.
After these last two games, Gannon holds a 9-4 PSAC record. The Knights will be in action again Friday in California, Pa. taking on the Vulcans, and then travel to Greensburg, Pa. to play against Seton Hill University Saturday.
KRISTEN MARINI
