The Gannon University volleyball team had a successful weekend, taking down both Slippery Rock University and Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, but fell to rival Mercyhurst Tuesday.
Friday, the Knights faced off against Slippery Rock at the Hammermill Center. Gannon was able to grab the win in four sets against The Rock. Set scores were 25-15 Gannon, 25-17 Slippery Rock, 25-20 Gannon and 25-12 Gannon.
Freshman Hannah Kren and junior Maggie Desrosiers both achieved double-doubles – Kren with 12 kills and 19 digs and Desrosiers with 12 kills and 11 digs. Junior Emily Carver managed 14 kills, which tied the season-game high.
Junior Megan Wendel had 50 assists, seven digs, one service ace and one block assist, while freshman Jordyn Thiery racked up 23 digs.
The Knights as a whole had 11 service aces throughout the match. Kren claimed seven of those aces, while Wendel, Thiery, freshmen Demma Strausbaugh and Lauren Beck each claimed one service ace.
Beck had her career debut for Gannon Friday, earning a spot in the Knights starting lineup. Beck secured seven kills, one assist, one ace, four digs and four block assists. She even scored the first point of the night for Gannon off a set by Wendel.
This victory pushed the team’s PSAC season record to 10-6.
After a victorious night, Gannon hosted the Edinboro Fighting Scots on Saturday. The Golden Knights were able to take the win in three sets. The set scores for this match were 25-17, 25-21 and 25-10.
Desrosiers was once again able to snag a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Kayla Knickerbocker managed 10 kills and four block assists while Kren had eight kills, 13 digs and two aces.
Wendel racked up 31 assists, four kills, 10 digs and two block assists, while junior Taryn Graham secured 14 digs throughout the match.
The first set of the match was won when Wendel scored back-to-back kills, ending the set at 25-17.
With the score tied in the second set, the Knights pulled away with a 5-0 run, finishing the set off at 25-21. The Knights put down a 13-1 run in the third set, finishing the match off with a score of 25-10. With this win, Gannon moved up in PSAC standings to 11-6.
The Knights took on their cross-town rival Mercyhurst University Tuesday in the Hammermill Center. The score sets were 25-15 Mercyhurst, 27-25 Gannon, and Mercyhurst took the final two sets, 25-11 and 25-18.
Kren led the team in kills with 12 and registered 16 digs while committing five errors. Desrosiers also had 16 digs and five kills.
Graham secured a team-high 19 digs in the Knights loss. The women’s volleyball record falls to 16-11 on the season.
Gannon will go on the road this weekend to take on two PSAC opponents. The Knights will travel to Clarion, Pa., to take on the Clarion University Golden Eagles at 7 p.m. Friday.
Gannon continues the road trip to Indiana, Pa., to take on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks at 5 p.m. Saturday.
KRISTEN MARINI
