SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University volleyball team took the first two sets of Saturday's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division match against Gannon University at Morrow Field House, but the Golden Knights rallied to earn a narrow 20-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-17, 15-13 win.
 
Saturday's result moves The Rock's record to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in league matches, while the division-leading Golden Knights improve to 14-5 overall and 5-0 in conference competition.
 
Callie Chevalier matched her career-high with 19 kills in addition to serving one ace and totaling four blocks (one solo / three assisted).
 
Supplementing Chevalier's offensive production was Emry Rumbaugh with seven kills and the combination of Lauren VonderHaar and Ava Haynes at six kills apiece. VonderHaar also tied Chevalier and Addison Jones in team-high block honors with four rejections.
 
The Rock combined to serve nine aces: their third-highest output of the season. Jaeden Yost, Kara Pasquale and Brooke Farrah produced two aces each, while Chevalier, VonderHaar and Paityn Krause had one apiece.
 
Krause and Yost guided the offense with 23 and 18 assists, respectively.
 
Pasquale continued her strong sophomore campaign with 26 digs, the latest of her nine outings this year with at least 20 digs.
 
Saturday started about as well as could be hoped for SRU as The Rock darted out to a 12-4 advantage in the opening set. While Gannon closed Slippery Rock's lead to as little as two points on four separate occasions, SRU took four of the opener's final five points on the way to a 25-20 win.
 
VonderHaar and Haynes had three blocks each in the first set, while Chevalier had four kills for a Rock team that combined for a .267 attack percentage early on.
 
The second set was a back-and-forth tilt that featured eight ties and three lead changes that ultimately went to The Rock, 25-22, courtesy of a 6-3 set-deciding run. Chevalier continued her impressive start with six kills in the second set.
 
Gannon rallied back to claim the third and fourth sets with back-to-back 25-15, 25-17 wins to force a fifth set.
 
It appeared as if Slippery Rock was going to hold off the charging Golden Knights and avoid the reverse sweep thanks to a 9-5 run to begin the fifth set. However, GU proceeded to claim eight straight points to take a 13-9 lead that it would never relinquish for an eventual 15-13 match-deciding win.
 
For the match, Slippery Rock held a 9-4 edge in aces over Gannon. The Golden Knights bettered The Rock in kills (61-50), attack percentage (.252-.127), total blocks (14-10) and digs (77-65).
 
Gannon was paced by Lauren Atwell's 13-kill, nine-block performance.
 
Slippery Rock will look to return to its winning ways when it heads to Indiana University (Pa.) for a 6 p.m. Oct. 17 road PSAC West match.




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