ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon volleyball team has reached the Elite Eight three of the last four years under long-time head coach Matt Darling. The Golden Knights have enjoyed incredible success under Darling, with 432 wins in his 18 seasons at the helm.
Darling has never been shied away from playing a demanding schedule and that is certainly the case in 2025. He has announced Gannon’s 2025 schedule, and it is one of the most challenging in many years.
Despite losing four AVCA honorable mention All-Americans from last year’s squad that finished 26-8 and reached the Elite Eight, Darling’s squad will play a total of 13 matches against NCAA playoff teams from a year ago, including defending national champion Lynn. The Golden Knights will play teams from four different conferences in addition to their PSAC foes, including four conference champions.
“We will find challenges at every part of this year’s schedule, starting in the pre-conference portion of the schedule, where we have a match against the defending national champions and matches against two other sweet sixteen teams,” Darling pointed out. “Once we hit PSAC play, we expect to be in a real fight for the postseason. At least five or six PSAC West teams, I think, will have a legitimate chance to win it this year, so there will be a fight for the four playoff spots. Hopefully we’ll be up to these challenges.”
Gannon jumps right into the fire to start a brutal non-conference portion of the schedule the very first weekend, playing four matches in the New York City area in two days. The season gets underway with a duel against the 2024 national champions on Friday, September 5, with Gannon meeting Lynn at Adelphi in Garden City, NY. The Sunshine State Conference champions won the South Regional then went on to defeat Wingate, Bentley, and finally San Francisco State in the national championship match. The Fighting Knights enter the season riding a 12-match winning streak and were 33-3 a year ago.
Later that same day Gannon will face host Adelphi, another NCAA postseason squad. The Panthers reached the Northeast-10 semifinals before falling in the East Regional semifinals to finish at 23-11.
On Saturday, September 6 the Golden Knights move on to Rockville Centre, N.Y., the home of Molloy, to face the host Lions and Assumption. Molloy, members of the East Coast Conference, was 14-12 a year ago. The four-game ends against a second NE-10 team in Assumption (8-17).
The following weekend the Golden Knights will head to the Midwest for three matches in the Hampton Inn & Suites Grand Rapids Downtown Classic. On Friday, September 12 Gannon plays a pair of Great Midwest Athletic Conference squads. Play begins with a 10:00 a.m. match vs. Findlay. The Oilers were 24-9 a year ago, winning the G-MAC championship before falling to Ferris State in the Midwest Regional championship.
At 4:00 p.m. on Friday Gannon faces Tiffin (13-14). On Saturday, September 13 the Golden Knights meet host Davenport (10-19) at 3:00 p.m.
Gannon plays in its third tournament in three weeks on September 18-20, and this one could have huge regional implications. The Golden Knights will compete against four Mountain East Conference teams, the first two in the Wheeling Invitational and the second pair in the West Liberty Invitational.
In a rematch of last year’s Atlantic Regional championship match, Gannon plays at Wheeling on Thursday, September 18. The Cardinals finished as the MEC runner-up after losing to West Virginia State in the championship match. They advanced to the Atlantic Regional final before losing to Gannon in four games with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
On Friday, September 19 the Golden Knights return to Wheeling to face Fairmont State (18-14).
Gannon makes the short trip to West Liberty for a pair of matches on Saturday, September 20. The day gets underway at 1:00 p.m. against MEC champion West Virginia State. The Yellow Jackets finished at 24-10 last year, defeating Clarion in the opening round of the Atlantic Regional before falling to Gannon in three games in the semifinals.
Gannon concludes the three-day sojourn to West Virginia with a 6:00 p.m. match at West Liberty. The Hilltoppers were 15-15 a year ago, including a three-game sweep of the Golden Knights.
After 11 straight matches on the road and against non-PSAC competition to begin the season the Golden Knights finally meet a team from the PSAC. This one will be a non-conference affair as well, with 2024 Eastern Division regular season champion Shepherd visiting the Highmark Events Center on Friday, September 26 for Parents’ Night. The home opener will be the first time the Golden Knights have played at the Highmark Events Center since December 1, 2023.
The Rams finished at 24-6 last year, finishing as the PSAC runner-up and earning a berth in the Atlantic Regional. They would lose to Indiana (Pa.) in the quarterfinals.
The Shepherd match is the first of five straight contests at the Highmark Events Center. After hosting local rival Edinboro (14-13) in the Western Division opener on Sunday, September 28, Gannon’s next four matches are against teams that made the NCAA Tournament.
Gannon hosts PSAC champion Indiana (Pa.) on Friday, October 3 in a rematch of the PSAC Championship. The Crimson Hawks defeated Gannon in four games before reaching the Atlantic Regional semifinals and losing to Wheeling. IUP ended the year at 24-9.
A day later Pitt-Johnstown (19-10), another Atlantic Regional entrant, plays at Gannon. The Golden Knights will play their third NCAA Tournament team in five days with a non-conference match vs. Daemen on Tuesday, October 7. The Wildcats, members of the ECC, finished at 17-9 and played in the East Regional.
Gannon hits the highways for a pair of PSAC West contests on October 10 and 11. The Golden Knights renew their rivalry with Clarion (15-12) on Friday night, marking the fourth straight match against an NCAA Tournament squad. On Saturday Gannon plays at Slippery Rock (12-14).
The following weekend Gannon hosts California (Pa.) (3-20) on Friday, October 17 and Seton Hill on Saturday, October 18. The Griffins finished at 19-9 after losing to Gannon in the PSAC quarterfinals.
The Seton Hill match marks the end of the first half of divisional play. The second half begins with the second meeting against Edinboro on Friday, October 24. That’s followed by the final non-conference match of the season as Cedarville (14-11) visits the Highmark Events Center on Saturday, October 25. Cedarville is a member of the G-MAC.
The second half features four straight away matches before the regular season concludes with back-to-back home games. Darling’s squad ends the regular season with Senior Day festivities on Saturday, November 15 with Clarion providing the opposition.
The PSAC Tournament gets underway on Tuesday, November 18 with the quarterfinals. The Final Four is set for Friday, November 21 and Saturday, November 22 and will be hosted by the highest remaining Eastern Division seed.
Gannon will hope to secure a 16th straight NCAA Tournament berth, with the Atlantic Regional scheduled for December 4-6. The NCAA Elite Eight is set for December 11-13. For the second straight year the Elite Eight will be held in Sioux Falls, SD.