INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Gannon on Friday night inside the KCAC as part of Senior Night.
IUP (19-7, 9-6) recognized seniors
Nicole Peterson,
Leah Henderson,
Caroline Walsh and
Brooke Little following a hard-fought effort. Gannon (22-5, 14-1) built large enough leads to hold on for the 25-21, 25-19, 20-25 and 25-20 victory.
IUP notched more kills in an evenly-matched, with the Golden Knights holding the edge in blocks. If Friday's match was any indication, both teams are starting to round into postseason form. IUP entered the final weekend of the regular season sixth
Lauren Valentic paced IUP with 13 kills, two aces and five blocks on the night. Henderson and
Hannah Simmons handed out 22 assists each with Peterson recording 15 digs.
For Gannon, Madde Blake notched 14 kills and three aces. Bengisu Arslan recorded 31 assists and Emma Hall added 18 digs.
Gannon held the advantage for the early stages of the opening set after IUP started strong. Things were tightly contested before Gannon used a 6-0 push and pulled ahead 24-18. The Crimson Hawks had a final push with a kill from Valentic and ace from Peterson before the Golden Knights closed out the set.
A 5-1 IUP run lifted the hosts in front in the second set, which included kills from Little and Valentic. The teams continued trading points in the middle portions of the frame before Gannon reeled off five consecutive points. A
Simay Memisoglu kill trimmed the deficit to 23-19, but the Knights delivered once again to close out the frame and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Simmons dropped in a service ace followed by a kill from
Stefania Anagnostou for a 5-2 IUP lead in the third set. A 5-0 IUP run lifted the Crimson Hawks to a 15-10 advantage. IUP maintained the lead for the duration of the third set before taking the frame 25-20.
Another quick start proved to be the difference for Gannon in the match-clinching fourth set. Trailing 10-3, IUP attempted to battle back. Staying within striking distance, IUP had a stretch of six consecutive points, which included three energizing kills from Peterson. Gannon logged three of the final four points of the match, securing the regular season sweep of IUP.
Up Next
IUP closes out the regular season on Saturday, November 5, hosting Mercyhurst inside the Memorial Field House at 6:00 p.m.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP women's volleyball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPVB.
