On Friday, Nov. 15, the Vulcans (3-20, 0-14) hosted the Gannon Golden Knights (20-6, 12-1) at the Convocation Center. This was the last game of the season for the Vulcans, and they faced a tough task playing against the top team in their region. They fell to the Golden Knights 1-3, but ended a dry spell of sweeps by taking their first set in the past 4 matches.

The first set went great for the Vulcans, who only had 4 attack errors the whole set. After the Golden Knights scored the first point, the Vulcans got the lead back instantly and never gave it up for the whole set. It culminated in a kill by Junior Elisa Rugiero, cementing the first win as a 25-20 Vulcan win.

Even though it was the first Vulcan set-win in the past four matches, the Golden Knights retaliated fast to settle the score. The Vulcans could never lead or tie the game in the second set, as the Golden Knights’ multiple scoring runs were too big to come back from. The Golden Knights more than doubled the Vulcans score as the Vulcans lost the second set 12-25.

Much like the second set, the third set started very rough for the Vulcans, as the Golden Knights started the set with a 7-0 run that put them in the lead at 10-2. The Vulcans would go back and forth with the Golden Knights after this but it was not nearly enough as the lead had already been too devastating. The Vulcans fell in the third set 13-25.

Again, rough starts plagued the Vulcans in the fourth set. The Golden Knights’ early scoring got them to a lead of 17-5 at one point before the Vulcans turned on the jets. The Vulcans retaliated with a 6-0 run and more consistent scoring but it was not enough to come back from a 12-point deficit. The Vulcans fell 17-25 in the 4th set, losing the match 1-3 and ending the season.

Junior Elisa Rugiero was on fire on Friday, leading the team with nine kills and getting the set-winning kill in the first set. Another junior, Adrianna Favata, recorded her seventh assist/dig double-double of the season recording 15 assists and 10 digs. Senior Sophia Johnson also maintained a 1.18 blocks per set throughout the season, the highest mark for a Vulcan since 2014.

With this match, the season for the Vulcans is now over. They finished 3-20, with 0-14 in conference play and eighth in the PSAC West.