ERIE, Pa. – The IUP women's volleyball team capped a perfect road weekend in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, sweeping Gannon in straight sets at the Highmark Events Center.
The Crimson Hawks rolled to a 25-19, 25-12, 25-19 victory, improving to 14-4 overall and 8-1 in PSAC play. IUP completed back-to-back road sweeps after defeating Edinboro in three sets Friday night.
Jessica Neiman led the Crimson Hawks offensively with 14 kills on just 26 attacks. Neiman committed only one attacking error, finishing the match with a .500 hitting percentage. Sammy Stephens added eight kills without an error on 14 swings for a .571 hitting percentage, while Delaney Concannon added eight kills and Charlotte Potvin finished with seven.
IUP controlled the match on both sides of the net, finishing with a 44-26 advantage in kills while outhitting Gannon .275 to .088. The Crimson Hawks also held advantages in aces (6-0), blocks (7-3) and digs (64-46).
The Crimson Hawks set the tone early, opening the first set with an 8-2 advantage before eventually taking the frame 25-19. IUP recorded 13 kills and held Gannon to a .100 hitting percentage in the opener.
IUP turned in its most efficient performance of the afternoon in the second set. The Crimson Hawks hit .345 with 13 kills while holding the Golden Knights to five kills and a negative hitting percentage, cruising to a 25-12 victory and a two-set advantage.
The offense continued to roll in the third with a match-high 18 kills. IUP hit .261 in the frame and closed out the road sweep with another 25-19 victory.
Maddie Zechman paced IUP with 21 assists and added seven digs, while Ellie Rauch handed out 14 assists. Concannon led the defensive effort with a match-high 16 digs, while Delaney Barto added 11 and Brooke Kessler and Lexi McLanahan finished with 10 apiece.
Potvin and Stephens each contributed four total blocks as the Crimson Hawks limited Gannon to a .088 hitting percentage for the match.
IUP leaves Erie with consecutive straight-set victories and has now won 13 of its last 14 matches.
