Slippery Rock, Pa. - The PSAC's western division has not been kind to Millersville volleyball this season and that trend continued on Saturday as the Marauders dropped matches to Gannon and Slippery Rock. Millersville is now 0-8 against the west in 2014.

The Golden Knights (18-2, 11-2 PSAC) defeated the Marauders (9-12, 3-10) with set scores of 25-9, 25-15 and 25-15. The Rock were next and won with set scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-14.

Gannon scored the first two points of the match before Millersville took three straight and was up 3-2 after a pair of kills and a Golden Knight error. However, Gannon took the lead back as part of a 15-2 run and was up 17-5. The closest the Marauders could get in the first stanza from that point on was 10 points but the Golden Knights took the set by 16 thanks to a blistering .389 attacking percentage.

In the second set, Gannon's offense was even hotter and hit an astounding .415 with 20 kills and just three errors on 41 total attacks. The set opened with a 13-3 run by the Golden Knights before Millersville called a timeout to talk things over. Out of the breather, the Marauders scored four of the next six points and trailed by eight, 15-7. After that point, the smallest deficit in the second set was eight points but Gannon went on to win it by 10 points.

The Golden Knights opened the third set on a 6-1 run before Millersville pulled within one point on three separate occasions. However, the Marauders could never tie the score and Gannon took the set by 10 points and the match in straight sets. Overall, the Golden Knights hit a red-hot .394 with 46 kills and nine errors on 94 swings. Millersville answered that with a .095 clip that included 24 kills and 15 errors in 95 chances. No team has hit that well against the Marauders since California (Pa.) hit .444 on Oct. 6 of 2012.

Mary Paul was the lone bright spot for Millersville as she sent home 12 kills with only two errors on 19 total attacks to hit .526. Victoria Biggins tallied 21 assists, Brooklyn Smith had 12 digs and Paul did work above the net as well with one solo block and three assisted.

The first set against Slippery Rock was the tightest of the match as it saw 11 ties and five lead changes. Neither team led by more than three points the entire set but The Rock were able to score the final four points of the set to take it and a one-set lead.

The second stanza was just as close and included 10 ties and three lead changes. Seven of those ties came in the first 14 points before Slippery Rock broke through a bit and were up 10-7. Millersville was able to tie the set up three more times from that point on but could never take the lead. The Rock led by as many as seven before taking the set and a two sets to none lead in the match.

The third set contained just three ties and one lead change with Slippery Rock leading by as many as 11 as it was in the final score, 25-14. 

The offense was led by eight kills from Kayla Wallace and Biggins' 24 assists. Defensively, Erin Harman and Brooklyn Smith both dug out 11 balls and above the net, four different Marauders registered a block assist.

Next up, Millersville will travel to Pitt-Johnstown on Oct. 17 (7 p.m.), Lock Haven on Oct. 18 (1 p.m.) and Elizabethtown on Oct. 22 (7 p.m.).