ERIE, Pa. – Mercyhurst had a 2-1 lead against city rival Gannon but could not finish the Golden Knights, falling in five sets 25-22, 26-28, 25-19, 17-25 and 10-15.
 
Erin Byrnes and Sarah Wegrzyn led the Lakers on offense, tallying 16 kills each.  Kelly Vitt directed the offense with 53 assists.  For the Mercyhurst defense,  Lexi Stefanov led the blocking scheme with 2 block assists and one block solo. Stefanov was also an integral part of the Lakers offense with 9 kills.  Sam Giardina tallied 19 digs while Vitt posted 17.
 
Mercyhurst moves to 14-15 overall, 9-9 in PSAC play on the year while Gannon moves to 20-7, 13-5 PSAC.  Gannon previously defeated the Lakers 3-2  in October.
 
The Lakers came out strong in the first set thanks a to a partisan home crowd but
Gannon rallied in the second set to race out to an 8-2 lead.  The Lakers were able to counter with a string of points to close the gap to 10-8 and from there, the back-and-forth style of play kept the set in reach for the Lakers.  However, Mercyhurst was unable to take control of the momentum before falling in set two.
 
Again in set three, the Lakers exited the huddle and set the tone for fast-paced play with frenzied rallies.
 
True to alternating form, it was Gannon who used a fast start to take a quick 8-4 lead before pushing the advantage to 15-5 before closing out the fourth set 25-17.
 
Set five remained close until the teams switched sides and Gannon pulled away with the victory.
 
Mercyhurst returns to action for its final two home games of the regular season on November 6 and 7, with Edinboro at 7:05 pm and Slippery Rock at 2:05 pm , respectively.
 
The Lakers close out the regular season in the following weekend, November 13-14 at IUP and Clarion.