CALIFORNIA (Oct. 15) – Playing their first home match in three weeks, the Vulcans suffered a 3-0 loss (26-24, 25-11, 25-17) against Gannon on Friday night in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play at the Convocation Center.

With the loss, the California University of Pennsylvania volleyball team falls to 9-7 this season with a 4-3 mark in divisional action. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights improve to 17-4 overall with a 5-2 mark in conference play.

Senior Sarah Moehring (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) paced the team with eight kills, while junior Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) and sophomore Alexa Malloy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bishop Canevin) both tallied four kills. Senior Sarah Benson (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) and classmate Marley Goff (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) guided the offense with 12 and 11 assists, respectively.

Junior libero Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) led the team with 17 digs, while Moehring added 12 digs. Sophomore Alayja Floyd (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) set a season high with five blocks in the loss.

After four ties and three lead changes, the Vulcans dropped the opening set by a 26-24 count. Cal U jumped out to an early 5-2 lead to force a Gannon timeout. The Vulcans won five of the next nine points to hold a 10-6 lead. The Lady Knights then cut the deficit to 17-15 before the teams traded the next six points with the Vulcans maintaining a 20-18 lead. Out of a timeout, Gannon mounted a 6-1 run to take a 24-21 lead before Cal U won three-straight points to tie the score at 24-24. The Lady Knights then claimed the next two points to take the first set, 26-24.

Gannon recorded 13 kills on a .293 hitting percentage while positing a 25-11 victory in the second set. The Lady Knights won four-straight points early in the set to take a 7-1 advantage. Cal U then claimed six of the next eight points to cut the lead to 9-6 before Gannon won three-straight points to hold a 12-6 lead. The Lady Knights would put together a 6-1 run to take a 17-8 lead and forced a timeout. Following the timeout, Gannon mounted an 8-3 run to take the set by a 25-11 count.

The Lady Knights posted a .290 clip in the third set behind 11 kills to secure the match with a 25-17 win. The Vulcans scored back-to-back points to even the score at 3-3 before Gannon won five of eight points to hold an 8-6 lead. The Lady Knights put together a 5-2 run to take a 13-8 lead and forced a timeout. The teams would trade the next nine points before the Lady Knights won four-straight points to take a 21-13 lead. The Vulcans scored three-straight points on kills by Moehring and Howard to cut the deficit to 24-17 before Gannon posted a kill to take the set, 25-17.

Cal U returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 16, when it hosts Mercyhurst at the Convocation Center in divisional play at 12 p.m.