Boxscore

ERIE, Pa. -- Despite a 17-kill effort from Becky Leusch, the Mercyhurst College women's volleyball team was unable to upset city-rival Gannon on its home court Tuesday night, falling in four sets, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-13.

Gannon's Lauren Sazama posted a game-high 19 kills against seven errors in 44 attempts while Leusch tied her career-high in kills with 43 attempts against nine errors.

Amanda Balasko and Gretta Freyermuth each contributed seven kills for the Lakers, who hit just .090 on the night as a unit.  Kiera Rebert directed the offense, recording 31 helpers in the loss.  Defensively, the Lakers relied on Balasko and Rebert as well, with Rebert digging 13 balls and Balasko 12.  Justine Smith provided five blocks up front while a quarter of Lakers in Balasko, Rebert, Leusch and Becky Smith added two blocks each.

With the loss, Mercyhurst moves to 15-10 overall, 7-7 in the PSAC while Gannon improves to 16-6, 10-4 in the PSAC.  The win for the Golden Knights avenges a five-set loss to the Lakers on Sept. 25.

The rivalry match had further implications than a win-loss. A new tradition has been started to pass a Diocese Trophy between Gannon and Mercyhurst during the annual Tuesday night match. Tonight, Monsignor David A. Rubino attended the match and presented the Diocese Trophy to Gannon's captains.

Initiated by the head coaches, Matt Darling and Ryan Patton, the Diocese Trophy acknowledges the Catholic heritage of both academic institutions and promotes attention to the match by starting this historical tradition between the two teams. The Diocese Trophy is a stained-glass three-dimensional art piece entitled, "Earth and Sea". It contains colors representing both teams.

Next up for Mercyhurst is a non-conference tilt against Daemen on Friday, Oct. 22.  Senior libero Kendall Ashworth will be honored in a pre-game ceremony for becoming the Mercyhurst College all-time digs leader on Oct. 15.