PENSACOLA, Fla. – Thursday's semi-final match of the 2017 NCAA DII National Volleyball Tournament marked the end of the line for the Regis University volleyball team– Regis had their historic season cut short at the hands of the seventh-seeded Golden Knights of Gannon University. The stunning three-set upset advances Gannon to the national semifinals, and sends the Rangers home with a 31-4 record. Gannon improves to 32-6, and will face No. 3 seed Florida Southern Friday.  

How It Happened: Though the fate of the match was not clear through the first part of the opening set, it was evident that second-seeded RU was playing short on their usual horse-power. Two-straight Regis attack errors gave Gannon an early 15-13 lead and prompted South Central Region Coach of the Year Joel List to take his first timeout of the set. Unfortunately, the Golden Knights had already sparked a push to the finish. Hanging in rallies long enough to answer all of Rangers' attacks with assaults of their own, GU created more and more separation. Another RU timeout at 22-19 could not slow the momentum – Gannon won the set 25-20.
 
Heavy first-set pressure from the service line continued into the second, leaving Regis rattled in the passing lanes and in a struggle to get their usual offensive dominance going. Still, the Rangers scrapped behind stout front and back row defensive efforts – assuring early control of the set. RU held on to a comfortable lead throughout, forcing the Golden Knights into a desperate timeout with the scoreboard at 20-15. The squads traded points from there until the RU squad eventually moved the score to 24-20 – one point away from a draw in the match. Gannon rallied from there, staying both patient and aggressive to stave off four Regis set points and eventually knot things at 24. Extra volleyball ensued as both teams battled for the advantage, but back-to-back Rangers errors in the final moments settled the matter. The 26-24 Gannon win had them one set away from the upset.
 
Unfortunately, the miscues continued into the final frame for the RU. The Golden Knights benefited from a pair of attack errors and a timely service ace to go up 6-2 –it was a lead they would never relinquish. Playing on their heels, the Regis squad scrambled. Despite an ever-strong defensive presence at the net, the Rangers struggled to mount the kind of heavy attack that had gotten them to the tournament. The result was a GU lead that pushed double-digits and an uncharacteristically low .103 RU attack clip. A mid-game Regis surge pulled the Rangers to within four, but Gannon's steady attack got the RU out of system again. It was not long before the second-seed in the Atlantic Region was pulling off another upset to stay alive (25-17).
 
Match Notes: Regis' normally dominant offense was anything but in the loss – the Ranger squad combined for 37 kills but committed a crippling 19 attack errors. The only RU hitter in double-digits, Caitlyn Burroway tallied 12 to go along with 11 digs. Sophomore Kelsey Green notched a team-best .304 on nine kills in 23 tries, while First Team All-America pick Nikki Kennedy added eight kills and five blocks.
 
Regis out-blocked the Golden Knights ten to seven, but struggled from behind the service line. The Rangers committed six service errors to GU's one, and could not match Gannon's eight-ace total.