Nov. 3, 2007

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's volleyball team avenged a loss to Gannon earlier in the season, sweeping the Golden Knights in three straight games Saturday to conclude the season. Mercyhurst won 30-26, 30-28, 30-21 on Gannon's home floor to end the year with an 18-14 record.

After pulling out close wins in the first two games, Mercyhurst hit .433 in game three to bury Gannon. With the final game tied at 9-9, Mercyhurst reeled off six consecutive points on a pair of Kendall Ashworth aces and two Lauren Kubinski kills. Gannon never got closer than five points the rest of the way as the Lakers cruised to the win.

In the opening game, Mercyhurst steadily pulled away, getting a pair of Gannon attack errors to take a 28-21 lead. The Knights, however, scored five of the next six points before a final Gannon attack error ended the game.

In game two, Mercyhurst had to come from behind, trailing by six points at 19-13. But the Lakers scored eight of the next 10 points, finally tying the score at 21-21 on a Jenna Matson kill. Kubinski followed with a kill and a Gannon attack error gave Mercyhurst a 23-21 advantage.

The Knights battled back to tie the score at 28-28, but Kubinski finished the next point with a kill and Christine Nisbet clinched game two with a kill for the 30-28 win.

Kubinski ended the match with 19 kills and a .412 atack percentage. Nisbet, one of three seniors on the team, finished her career with a stellar effort, ending with 14 kills, six blocks, three digs and two aces. Kendall Ashworth led Mercyhurst with 19 digs.

Nisbet and Sara Kuntz played in their final match for Mercyhurst. A third senior, Kristin Peterson, was a member of the team but did not play this year. At 18-14 on the year, Mercyhurst concluded its best season since the 2002 team went 21-8. The win total marked an 11-win improvement over the 2006 season when the team went 7-18.