Rock volleyball lost to Gannon University (26-3) Friday night and won against Mercyhurst University (15-14) Saturday evening in their senior day game at Morrow Field House.
The Rock offense was led by senior Leah Jones with 24 kills over the two matches, 12 in each. Junior Haley Defibaugh led the team in assists over the weekend with 31, while junior Courtney Oberlander led the team on defense with 38 kills through the two matches.
Rock volleyball recognized seniors Cassidy Schoof, Jaden Zimmer and Leah Jones for their hard work and dedication to the program on senior day Saturday at Morrow Field House.
In the first set on Friday, Gannon showed why they only have three losses when they jumped out to a commanding 13-2 lead early. The Rock failed to get much going as Gannon continued to build on their lead, eventually taking the set 25-12, with 11 of Gannon’s points coming off of Rock errors or bad sets.
“You take away the first set, we played really well against them (Gannon),” head coach Laurie Lokash said. ” There were some good rallies, but they did still played better than us.”
When the second set began, The Rock was able to cut back on mistakes, while finding themselves just two points behind Gannon in the early going. Gannon remained ahead for the first half of the set till the Green and White were able to tie the set at 14. No team had an upper hand until Gannon broke free late taking the set 25-23.
The third set mirrored the second, with both teams exchanging the lead multiple times. Gannon grabbed the lead early first, only to see The Rock come and take it from them. Toward the end of the set, The Rock seemed to have control after scoring four straight points that tied the set at 21. It wouldn’t prove to be enough as Gannon scored the final four points taking the set 25-21 and completing the match sweep.
“Accountability and responsibility are not about blaming others,” Lokash said. “It’s self-reflecting, knowing what you’re doing right and wrong and being able to make corrections with that.”
Next, The Rock took on the Mercyhurst Lakers for their final match of the season on Saturday. The first set started with the Green and White snatching an early 10-5 lead. The Rock continued the pressure, but Mercyhurst would work their way back into the contest scoring four straight points making it a one-point set at 14-13. After a Rock timeout, the Green and White would extend their lead once again to seven points after scoring six straight. The Rock would end up taking the first set, winning 25-17.
In the second set no team had control early with the teams exchanging the lead multiple times. The Rock was finally able to break free and grab a 15-12 lead before a Mercyhurst timeout. The Green and White were able to then extend that lead to seven with a 22-15 lead, eventually taking the set 25-16.
Mercyhurst was out to prove they weren’t done grabbing an early 3-0 lead, but The Rock would answer with three of their own. The back and forth battle continued til The Rock got out in front with an 11-7 lead prior to a Lakers timeout. The Rock would extend their lead to 8 with a 21-13 lead, but Mercyhurst wouldn’t go quite as the Lakers came back to make it a one-point set. The Green and White would hold their ground taking the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.
“Every time you lose a group of seniors, it take a little of you program with them,” said Lokash. “They’re good kids and they set a good example for the program.”
Rock volleyball ended their season with a win on senior day and ended up with a 13-19 record and went 5-13 in PSAC play.
