ERIE, Pa. (Oct. 14) – The Vulcans suffered a 3-0 loss (25-14, 25-12, 25-21) at Gannon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Friday night.

With the loss, the California (PA) volleyball team falls to 10-9 overall with a 4-6 record in divisional play. Meanwhile, the Lady Knights improve to 14-5 this season behind an 8-1 conference record.

Freshman Elisa Rugiero (Vicenza, Italy/Farina Vicenza) led the team with nine kills while hitting at a .318 clip. Senior Kaylin Burkey (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) added five kills while sophomore Allie Droneberger (North Beach, Md./Northern) posted four kills. Sophomore Rachel Simon (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) paced the team with a career-high 10 assists and freshman Ashley Barnes (Crofton, Md./Arundel) contributed eight assists to the match.

Sophomore Grace Dorcon (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) recorded a team-high nine digs and senior Kelly Lynch (Broadview Heights, Ohio/Holy Name) added eight digs to aid the defensive effort. Senior Chelsea Howard (Atlanta, Ga./North Atlanta), sophomore Sophia Johnson (Waynesboro, Pa./Waynesboro) and Burkey each controlled the net with two blocks.

The Lady Knights jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the first set to force a Cal timeout. Following the timeout, both teams went back-and-forth with Gannon executing a 6-5 run to lead by a 18-7 margin. The Vulcans were able to trim their deficit to 18-11 after scoring four-consecutive points. The Lady Knight answered with a 4-1 run followed by Cal tallying a pair of points. Gannon closed out the first set with three-straight points, 25-14.

Cal held a slight 5-4 lead early in the second set until the Lady Knights scored the next 10 points and held a 14-5 lead. The Vulcans put an end to the Gannon run with back-to-back points from kills, however, the Lady Knights answered with a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 20-9. After Cal cut the deficit to 20-11, Gannon claimed the second set following a 5-1 run, 25-12.

In the third set, the Lady Knights held a 9-5 lead beffore Cal called a timeout. After the timeout, the Vulcans pulled within two points of Gannon until the Lady Knights collected three-straight points to take a 14-9 lead. Cal conducted a 4-2 run after a timeout to trim the deficit to a 16-13 margin. Gannon responded by extending its lead to 21-16 after 5-3 run. The Vulcans trimmed their deficit to 24-21 following a 5-3 run, however, the Lady Knights won the set 25-21.

The Vulcans return to action on Friday, Oct. 21, as they host Clarion in league play at 6 p.m.