ERIE, Pa. – Junior opposite
Sami Brown (Lewisberry, Pa./Red Land) had a career-high 19 kills, but it wasn't enough as IUP women's volleyball fell to Gannon in five sets on Friday night.
Brown's 19 kills came on 49 attacks, adding two solo blocks and four block assists to finish with 23.0 total points in the Crimson Hawks' heartbreaking loss.
The Crimson Hawks rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the match to win the fourth set 25-19. They held a 9-1 lead in the final set before a 14-4 run from Gannon clinched the win. IUP won the opening set 25-21 while Gannon took sets two and three by scores of 25-16 and 26-24, respectively.
It was IUP's first league loss of the year, dropping to 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Gannon improved to 14-3 and 4-1.
The Crimson Hawks had a strong attack from the middle on Friday, with senior
Gabby Egler (Pittsburgh, Pa./Barack Obama Academy) adding a season-high 14 kills, solo block, and four block assists to Brown's night. The duo combined for 40 points.
Overall, the Golden Knights held a slim advantage in hitting percentage at .131 to .115, as the teams combined for 63 errors on 367 total attacks in the match. Gannon finished with 14.0 team blocks and IUP had 11.0.
Senior outside hitter
Natalie Cignetti (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) had her 13th double-figure kill match of the season with 13 on Friday, with classmate
Alexis Anderson (Cleveland, Ohio/Mayfield) adding eight. Senior setter
Katie Miller (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) had a career-high 52 assists.
Junior libero
Jess Marut (Painesville, Ohio/Riverside) aided the IUP defense with 32 digs on the night, while graduate
Ellie Burns (Clarion, Pa./Clarion) had 21. Brown added 12 digs, and Miller and Cignetti added 11 and 10, respectively.
Up next
IUP will remain in Erie to face Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon. First serve is set for 4:05 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
