SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa.-The Gannon University volleyball team won at Slippery Rock in five sets Friday night. The Lady Knights won the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division match 25-15, 23-25, 25-16, 25-27 and 15-8. With the victory, the Lady Knights clinched a spot in the postseason PSAC Tournament.
GU controlled in its three set wins, but the Rock would not go down easily, hanging around throughout the contest.
Morgan Reineke (New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville) led with 22 kills, while
Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) posted a double double with 12 kills and 15 digs.
Maire Prybyl (Mars, Pa./North Catholic) handed out 55 assists and
Lindsey Deitmen (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) added 14 kills.
Kara Cullen (Marstons Mills, Mass./Barnstable) recorded 12 blocks and
Shelly Hill (Cochranton, Pa./Cochranton) contributed a team-high 19 digs.
The Knights secured a postseason berth for the first time since 2003 when they qualified for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament. That was also the last year that GU recorded a 20-win campaign. The top four seeds from each PSAC division advance to the playoffs, with quarterfinals being held Tuesday, November 10.
The win is Gannon’s 600th victory in program history. GU is 600-466 since the start of the volleyball program in 1974.
The Knights improved to 21-8 overall and 12-6 in the PSAC. The Rock is now 7-24 overall and 3-15 in the conference. Gannon heads to Clarion Saturday, November 7, to close out the regular season.
A complete box score for Friday’s Gannon-Slippery Rock match will be available at gannonsports.com when the team returns to Erie this weekend.