ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's volleyball team continued their 2021 spring season with a trip down State Street for a pair of matchups with their archrival and undefeated Gannon University Golden Knights on Wednesday night at the Hammermill Center.  Unfortunately, for the Lakers they came up on the short-end of a pair of 3-0 setbacks.

Match 1 – Gannon 3, LAKERS 0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-20)
 
Gannon began the match strong by taking six of the first eight points, with a pair of home attack errors providing the lone Mercyhurst offense.  Madison Kasper and Beth Brady strung together kills to carve the deficit down to 6-4.  A Kasper kill along with a pair of home mishits kept the margin at 9-8.  The two sides exchanged points to 12-11, before the Knights went on a 6-2 push making it 18-13.  Kate Hennessy recorded the final visiting kill in the 25-15 setback.
 
The teams went back and forth to start the second set with points from Hannah Vuylsteke, Adeline Benjamin, Chase Cole and Kasper putting the score in a deadlock at 9-9.  Both sides recorded four points out of the next eight with Brady along with Benjamin providing the kills.  Unfortunately, for the Lakers they got no closer as the Knights finished on a 12-2 run for the 25-15 win.
 
Mercyhurst got kills from Hailey Wilson, Cole, and Brady to claim an early 5-2 edge.  A 7-2 response by the home side nudged the hosts in front 9-7.  Kasper and Brady answered back to even the score 9-9, before Gannon recorded four straight.  Kylie Schnars, Brady and Cole brought the Green and Blue within 19-18 thanks to a 9-6 stretch.  Wilson notched the final Laker kill of the match during a 6-2 run to earn the 25-20 victory.
 
Laker Leaders
Kills – Brady (12), Kasper (5)
Assists – Kenny (18)
Digs – Kenny and Vuylsteke (13), Gadomski (9)
Blocks – Benjamin, Cole and Kasper (2)
 
Match 2 – Gannon 3, LAKERS 0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-14)
 
The first set began nip and tuck with Schnars, Wilson and Benjamin supplying the points early to even things at 3-3.  After a Gannon kill, Brady recorded two kills to make it 6-4.  An assisted block between Maggie Thomas and Schnars pushed it to 7-6, before the Knights seized the lead back at 14-9 thanks to an 8-3 charge.  Scores off the arms of Schnars as well as Brady kept the margin where it was 17-12.  Claire Kenny put away an ace to cut the deficit to 18-14, but seven of the ensuing eight points belonged to the hosts for the set one win 25-15.
 
Benjamin, Brady, Cole and Wilson gave the visitors an early 4-3 advantage in set two.  However, consecutive kills by Madde Blake and Bebinger bumped the Knights ahead 5-4.  Over the next seven points the Lakers worked hard to get back into the match as Kasper put down three kills and Wilson added one to draw even 8-8.  Gannon used a 5-1 spurt to claim a four-point cushion 13-9.  The home team continued to hold onto the lead, until two straight miscues coupled with a Wilson kill made it 18-17.  Gannon took a 20-17 advantage, before the Lakers stormed back with Benjamin, Brady, Kenny, Cole and Schnars providing offense allowing the guests to take a 22-21 edge.  Cole notched one more kill, but Gannon was able to hold on for the game 25-23.
 
Benjamin and Brady helped to split the opening four points of the third set, prior to a 7-2 Knights charge to take the 9-4 lead.  The Lakers fleet answered back with a 5-1 run on scores from Benjamin, Schnars and Wilson to close within 10-9.  Three Gannon players recorded kills during a 9-1 response to jump ahead 19-10.  Schnars and Cole cut the deficit to 20-13, five of the next six points went to the Knights for the match 25-14. 
 
Laker Leaders
Kills – Brady (7), Kasper and Schnars (5)
Assists – McCaffrey (14), Kenny (10)
Digs – Vuylsteke (20), Brady (10)    
Blocks – Benjamin and Brady (3), Cole (2)

Words from Coach Patton
"Beth Brady had a nice first match and provided some scoring that we very much needed."
"A true highlight was Chase Cole who competed for the first time since a devastating knee injury in 2018.  We have watched her rehab for over a year now and it is truly rewarding to see her in the lineup."
"In match two we played a much better game, even though the scores were fairly similar."
"Hannah Vuylsteke had a very strong second match reading and covering the court.  She is a very smart player and has a lot of fun while playing."
"Our opposites played well in the second match. Madison Kasper played at the high level we expect from her and Kylie Schnars made some plays that demonstrated the tremendous upside in her. We are in good shape in this position for the next several years."
"We've got three days and Saturday's two matches left in this crazy year. We're going into the summer having achieved goals of implementing some tough things and getting good data points for the next PSAC season. It will be good to end the year on a winning streak and we intend to leave nothing behind against Clarion."

On Deck
The Lakers will close out this abbreviated spring campaign with a doubleheader against PSAC West foe Clarion University on Saturday afternoon at 1pm and 3pm inside Tippin Gymnasium.