Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst women's volleyball team went five sets with rival Gannon for the second time this year but the result was different this time. The Lakers won the first contest in five sets but the Golden Knights pulled out the victory Saturday 22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 18-16.

 

Mercyhurst battled back from an 11-5 deficit in the fifth set to take a 13-12 lead but the two teams could not put the match away. Gannon had a match point at 14-13 but an Erin English kill tied it up. The Golden Knights had opportunities to win with the lead at 15-14 and 16-15, but the Lakers got kills from English and Jenna Matson to remain tied. Gannon eventually put the match away with a kill and a Mercyhurst attack error.

 

Matson led Mercyhurst with 15 kills and English added 12. Senior Lauren Kubinski entered the match with 999 career kills and joined Matson as one of only five players in program history with 1,000 by putting down 11 kills in the contest. Julia Butler had 49 assists and 16 digs, while libero Kendall Ashworth had a team-high 17 digs.

 

Gannon hit .200 for the match and Lakers hit just .145, peaking with a .265 swing percentage in the set four victory that pushed the match to a fifth.

 

Gannon improves to 11-12 on the year and 2-7 in PSAC play. Mercyhurst falls to 18-11 and 5-4. The Lakers will play at Lake Erie Wednesday at 7 p.m.