Box Score

ERIE, Pa.- The Mercyhurst volleyball team beat Gannon, 3-0, Tuesday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The Lakers won by scores of 25-17, 25-16, and 25-23 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division match.

Coach Ryan Patton's squad came out firing and continued the pressure all night. Elyse Texido started the match serving and got her team off to a 6-0 lead. Morgan Walters took serve for the Lady Knights and scored six points of her own. The teams traded points from there until the hosts took control behind Veronica Crosby. Crosby tallied four kills in an eight-point stretch that put the Lakers ahead 18-14. Becky Leusch took over after that, posting four kills as Mercyhurst went up 23-17. Two Gannon errors later, the Lakers were up 1-0 in the match.

Mercyhurst put together a dominant second game, totaling 22 kills and hitting .340 as a team. Camille Alvarez had four early kills and then Crosby and Leusch combined for two kills apiece as the Lakers took a 12-4 advantage. Texido served the hosts to four consecutive points before Alvarez recorded two more kills for a 23-15 lead. After a Gannon service error, Leusch made it 2-0 Lakers with a set-ending kill.

The third frame was a back-and-forth affair, as neither side could take control. The game was tied at nine different points throughout, including at 22, when Sarah Glancy gave the Knights a one-point edge. Becky Smith followed with a tying kill. A GU attack error got the Lakers to match point, where Leusch made a rare serving appearance. Her serve eventually led to an Amanda Balasko kill to win it.

For the night, Mercyhurst hit .255 and held Gannon to a .108 attack percentage. Leusch finished with 13 kills, while Smith had 11 and Alvarez 10. Kiera Rebert had 24 assists and freshman Kelly Vitt, who sparked the Laker attack in the first game, dished out 14. Texido collected 29 digs in the back row.

Mercyhurst improved to 17-6 overall and 5-5 in the conference. GU dropped to 16-4 overall and 8-2 in the PSAC.

The Lakers play at Edinboro in another league contest Saturday, October 13.