GETTYSBURG, Pa. – There won't be many similarities between this season's and last season's Gettysburg College volleyball team, but that shouldn't be a problem for the Bullets as they aim to regain their championship form.

The Bullets enter 2010 with a new head coach, a new system of play, and nearly an entire new roster of players. Former mentor Alexa Keckler left the program over the summer to take the reins at Muhlenberg College. Stepping in as interim head coach was former assistant Leah Bernier, who will look to lead the squad back to the top of the Centennial Conference.

“We have an entirely new system, a new team, and a new coach – basically everything is new,” said Bernier. “We lost five seniors and gained nine freshmen. We have a lot of talent and now we're in the process of figuring out where exactly we can use it.”

Gettysburg wasn't short on success in 2009, posting a 19-9 overall record and reaching the conference tournament championship for the second year in a row. The Centennial's most successful team with 11 team championships, the Bullets saw their title drought extended to four years with a straight-set loss to Haverford College in the title match.

Gone from that team is a quintet of record-setting seniors, including all-conference selections at setter, libero, and outside hitter. Losses like that would put a damper on a team's prospects, but the coaching staff is confident there won't be too much of a letdown with a talented group of newcomers aiming to fill in the blanks, particularly in the role of setter.

“We have two freshmen setters that give us a lot of options,” noted Bernier. “They have no prior knowledge of the old system and they're adapting well to what we're asking them to do.”

Lizzy Kuhn (Wilmington, Del./Archmere Academy) and Nicole Petrillo (Hawthorne, N.Y./West Lake), both all-state selections in high school, will vie to be the team's starting setter, but Bernier also hinted at the possibility of having both players on the floor at the same time.

While newcomers will make a significant impact this fall, the offense and defense will begin and end with the upperclassmen, most notably senior co-captains and middle hitters Nicole Burns (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro) and Kate Yoder (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus). Burns, who played two seasons at Eastern University, averaged nearly two kills per set and led the team in blocks in her debut season as a Bullet, while Yoder collected her third-consecutive All-Centennial Conference accolade last fall.

“The two of them are going to have the biggest impact for our program this season,” said Bernier. “They both have the potential to be dominant players and they've adjusted quickly to our new game plan and the new setters. Both of them have been really open to everything we've been doing.”

Behind Burns and Yoder in the middle position is 6-1 Sarah Gorski (Darien, Conn./Darien). Gorski helped Darien High School capture four consecutive state titles and was an all-state selection as a senior. Freshmen Courtney Cyr (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) and Mia Rawleigh (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg), the 2009 Gettysburg Times Player of the Year, should also see plenty of playing time at the net for Gettysburg.

Juniors Jamie Huffman (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) and Virginia Hogan (Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee) give Bernier a pair of experienced contributors at outside hitter. Huffman will look to return to her freshman form which saw her average 1.56 kills per set. Hogan's potential continues to rise following a season in which she averaged nearly two kills per set and served 34 aces.

“Virginia has become a go-to player for us,” said Bernier. “She's a smart player and knows the game. She'll be a solid force on the court this fall.”

Cyr, Rawleigh, and fellow first-years Kelly Milione (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) and Marcela Pallete (Winnetka, Calif./Notre Dame) will also be counted on for production on the wings.

The back row defense looks solid with a pair of returning players taking the lead. Junior Rebecca Rubenstein (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) has averaged over two digs per set in her first two campaigns, while sophomore Katie Wilson (Gaithersburg, Md./Covenant Life) heads into the fall as one of the team's most improved players. They will be joined in the defensive rotation by freshmen Laura Whitney (Clarksville, Md./River Hill) and Becca Johnson (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford). Any one of those players could fill the void as the team's libero this season.

All of Gettysburg's physical needs have been met heading into the 2010 campaign, but getting back to the apex of the Centennial Conference may take more than just skill alone according to the coaching staff.

“I think getting over the hump this year is going to be a mental game,” noted Bernier. “The physical aspect is there; it's just a matter of these players believing they can do it.”

The Bullets will be tested early and often in its non-conference slate, including a match up with 2009 NCAA participant Salisbury University on the second day of this weekend's Battlefield Classic. The non-conference schedule will prep the team for a run at the Centennial title, a road that includes preseason favorite Franklin & Marshall College and four-time defending champion Haverford.

“Seeing how we do against Salisbury is going to be a great indicator early in the year,” said Bernier. “That's going to help solidify who we are going to have on the court. Haverford is usually our toughest early conference match. Doing well against Haverford will be a great gauge of how we are going to perform in the Centennial Conference this season.”

Gettysburg kicks off 2010 with the two-day Battlefield Classic inside Bream Gym and Hauser Field House on Sept. 3-4. Action begins at 3 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday. The squad will also take part in competitive tournaments at Emory University on Sept. 10-11 and Elizabethtown College on Sept. 24-25. The first Centennial Conference foe to tangle with the Bullets will be Bryn Mawr College on Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. inside Bream Gym.