ERIE, Pa. – They are officially the comeback kids. The Gannon volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit and dominated the final three sets en route to its first-ever conference championship Saturday night at the Hammermill Center. The Lady Knights won the 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship by scores of 20-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16 and 15-8.
Lock Haven controlled the first two sets, holding Gannon to .075 and .098 hitting percentages. Meanwhile, Bald Eagles hit .200 during both victories. Gannon intially rattled off the first six points of the match, before Lock Haven slowly chipped away at the lead.
Trailing 11-7, Lock Haven exploded for eight consecutive points to assume a 15-11 lead. Gannon was never able to get closer than three points the rest of the way during an opening 25-20 loss.
The second set script was similar to the first as Lock Haven broke open a tight set with a big run midway through the stanza. The two teams played to seven ties, before the Bald Eagles manufactured a 6-1 run to grab a 16-11 advantage. The lead grew to as many as eight points while the Lady Knights dropped another 25-20 set.
Coaches will need to bottle whatever was said in the huddle during the second intermission. Because it was all Gannon after that. The Lady Knights opened the third set with an 8-2 run. The lead never dipped below four points the rest of the way and the final score of 25-16 proved to be the biggest lead of the set. The home squad hit .353 during the stanza that eventually proved to turned the momentuem.
There was no stopping Gannon during the fourth set as the Lady Knights hit .480 with 14 kills and only two errors in 25 attempts. Meanwhile, Lock Haven had a match-high eight errors. Gannon rolled to leads of 7-1 and 11-3. The winner of the fourth set was never in question with the smallest lead after the Lady Knights' opening runs was five points. The offensive show gave the home squad another 25-16 win, forcing a title-deciding fifth set.
As was the case during the previous two sets, the Gannon train was rolling with very little stopping it during the final set. Again, the Lady Knights jumped out to an early lead. This time it was a 5-1 advantage. Lock Haven clawed within 8-5, but Gannon immediately responded with a two straight points. The lead stood at 12-8, before the Lady Knights secured the final three points of the evening on a service error, an attack error and
Megan Wendel's (Aurora, Ohio/Kenston) service ace that brought the crowd of 584 to its feet.
Lauren Sazama (St. Louis, Mo./Oakville) was named PSAC Tournament MVP after recording her 21st double-double of the season and 69th of her career with 19 kills and 12 digs. The senior outside hitter added four assists, three service aces and two blocks. She finished the conference tournament with 50 kills, 47 digs, seven assists, six service aces and six blocks in three matches.
Wendel added her 11th double-double of the season with 48 assists and 13 digs. Reineke could have easily been the MVP of the championship match, hitting .350 with 20 kills and only six errors in 40 attempts.
Taryn Graham (Huron, Ohio/Huron) had a team-high 19 digs.
Emily Carver (Stow, Ohio/Theodore Roosevelt) recorded four kills and seven blocks in the middle.
Gannon, ranked third in the NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, improved to 28-5 with Saturday's title. The Lady Knights have won 11 consecutive matches against PSAC teams. Lock Haven, tabbed fifth in the regional rankings, dropped to 26-10 with its second loss of the season against Gannon.
Head coach
Matt Darling's club received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament along with the PSAC championship. The Lady Knights will now await word on their postseason bid. The NCAA Division II Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, November 18 at 10 p.m. on NCAA.com.
