Gannon shuts out Mercyhurst in cross-town game

Bernard Garwig, Staff writer

The Mercyhurst Lakers women’s volleyball team competed against Gannon University Golden Knights  in an Oct. 11 game at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
Despite the final two matches being both competitive and close, the Golden Knights were able to put up three wins in a row to put an early end to the contest against the Lakers.
The first game saw the Golden Knights pull away with a 25-13 score over the Lakers.  The Golden Knights were able to put up several unanswered points in a row to top the Lakers in the first game.  The second game ended with the Golden Knights coming from an 8-14 deficit to eventually win it 25-21.  For the final game, it was a bit closer, with both teams trading scores.  The ultimate result was 25-22, however, and Gannon walked away with a victory over the Lakers.
Lauren Kenny, Sarah Wegrzyn and Haley Adams led the Lakers in kills with 11, 9 and 6 respectively. Wegrzyn, Adams and Sarah Puckett each had one of Lakers’ three aces against the Golden Knights.  Hannah Tombaugh lead the assist category for the Lakers with 18, followed by Makayla Molle with 15 and Shelby Chesko with one.
Seniors Kenny and Tombaugh weighed in on the aftermath of the game.  “We went in with a solid game plan but failed to execute; Gannon executed really well,” said Kenny. “What we struggled with was their blocking, and we didn’t really respond well to that.”   The Golden Knights had 14 blocks while the Lakers recorded just four against them.
Tombaugh added that “it was always fun to play Gannon because of the cross- town rivalry. We didn’t quite match their pace as well as we should have.  We are better when we are dictating the pace of the game.  Gannon really jumped down our throats in that aspect. I’m excited to see how we respond in their gym environment because it’s a way different environment than our gym.” The two teams will face each other again on Nov. 8, this time at Gannon.
The Lakers are now 11-7 overall and are 3-4 in the PSAC in the wake of the loss.  They will face Seton Hill next at home as well.  The Golden Knights  improve to 16-2 and a PSAC record of 5-1.