WHEELING, W.V. – Despite leading 2-0 in the match, the East Stroudsburg University volleyball team saw its 2021 season come to an end as the seventh-seeded Warriors were defeated by No. 2 Gannon in five sets in the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional on Thursday afternoon at the Alma Grace McDonough Center. The set scores were 25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 7-25, 2-15.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Tricia Melfy, the Warriors finished the year 18-11 overall and 12-2 in the PSAC. From Oct. 16 to Nov. 16 ESU rattled off 10 consecutive victories which included sweeps in eight of those matches. The double digit conference win total marks just the fourth time since 1989 that ESU has achieved that feat.
The Golden Knights advance to tomorrow's second round of the Atlantic Regional to face No. 6 West Virginia State at 5 p.m. after the Yellow Jackets defeated No. 3 Shepherd in four sets.
Notables
- Senior Ali Finch concluded one of the best seasons in program history with six kills, 27 assists, 13 digs and a .267 attack percentage
- Sophomore Kaylee LoPresto tallied a team-high 10 kills
- Junior Sydney Stone notched a career-high 21 digs to go with nine kills
- Senior Emily Meredith and sophomore Claire Choloux each notched 12 digs. Meredith finished her three-year career with 1,693 digs, the third most in program history. Her 4.86 digs per set for her career are also third all -time.
- Gannon (64) finished with 27 more kills than ESU (37) and had three less attack errors
How it Happened
- The Warriors opened the first set on a 6-1 run after forcing Gannon into four attack errors which prompted a timeout by the Golden Knights. As the teams traded rallies, the Warriors maintained a four-point edge at 16-12 but were forced into a timeout after a surge by the Golden Knights. Out of the break, ESU and Gannon each used a pair of 3-0 runs but the Warriors ultimately went on to take the set, 25-20, for a 1-0 lead over the Golden Knights.
ESU and Gannon each finished the first set with 11 kills, but the Golden Knights had 10 errors compared to only two for the Warriors.
- Gannon took a 4-1 lead to open the second set but it was erased quickly by the Warriors, who evened the score at 5-5. After the Golden Knights went ahead 11-9, ESU responded with a 5-0 on four straight kills to grab a 14-11 lead.
Out of a Gannon timeout, the Warriors kept it rolling extending their lead to 18-11 before another stoppage by the Golden Knights. ESU went ahead by as many as eight points but a 4-1 by the Golden Knights got them within five at 22-17.
- As the teams went back and forth to open the third set, the Warriors went ahead 9-7 before the Golden Knights found their groove with a 5-0 run to take a 12-9 advantage. Following an ESU timeout, the Warriors responded with a 4-0 sprint to regain a 13-12 lead before the Golden Knights scored five straight points to grab a 17-13 edge. Gannon would go on to score eight of the next 11 points to take the set 25-16, which made the match 2-1 in favor of ESU.
- Gannon carried their momentum over into the fourth set as they found themselves leading 5-0 before an ESU timeout. The Golden Knights could not be slowed though as they extended their advantage to 14-4 before the Warriors were forced into the second timeout. Gannon finished off the set at 25-7 to even the match and force a fifth set.
- In the decisive fifth set, the Golden Knights went ahead 4-0 before an ESU timeout and built a 11-0 lead before the Warriors recorded their first point. Gannon would close out the set, 15-2, for a 3-2 victory in the match.
