Box Score
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – On her 32nd and final set of the night, sophomore Shannan Smith (Milmont Park, PA/Ridley) tallied her 1,000th assist of the season, and Gettysburg cruised to a sweep of visiting McDaniel in Centennial Conference (CC) volleyball action on Wednesday.
Juniors Nicole Barr (Annapolis, MD/Broadneck) and Jessica Cortese (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) added double-doubles to help the Bullets (23-5, 7-0 CC) to their 17th-consecutive victory. Barr recorded 10 kills and 13 digs, while Cortese totaled 16 kills and 10 digs. Senior Michelle Dorsch (Frederick, MD/Gov. Thomas Johnson) tallied a team-best 14 digs on the night she was honored as Gettysburg's lone senior.
Kellyanne Rose led the attack for the Green Terror (8-21, 2-5 CC) with nine kills. Jaime Bodden added 19 assists, while Carrie Sniffen steadied the defense with 14 digs and two blocks.
The Bullets started game one strong opening up an 8-2 advantage before McDaniel called its first timeout. The Green Terror cut the lead to 11-6, but seven straight service points by Dorsch stretched the lead to 20-7. McDaniel had one last run left for the first game, cutting the advantage to 22-11. More strong serving from Cortese coupled with four kills from freshman Hillary Prutzman (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) down the stretch gave Gettysburg a 30-16 game one victory.
In the opening run, the Smith-Cortese connection hooked up no less than three times to help the Bullets gain the big lead.
The Green Terror held close for much of the first half of the second game. Clinging to a slim 11-9 lead, Dorsch and Prutzman combined to serve seven of the next eight points to open a 16-11 advantage. After the Smith-Barr combination hooked up no less than two more times over the next four Gettysburg points, the Bullets held a 20-14 advantage.
After an ace from Mindy Minchhoff cut the lead to 20-15, the Gettysburg lead swelled to 24-15 after Prutzman added a block assist and kill. With a 29-18 lead, Prutzman served the final point to give the Bullets a 2-0 lead in the match.
McDaniel battled hard in game three to force a fourth game, but Gettysburg would not be denied the sweep. With the Bullets holding their largest lead of the game to that point (19-15), sophomore Margaret Hallahan (Huntingdon, PA/Huntingdon) served the next five points to make it a 24-15 contest. A pair of aces by Cortese on the next Gettysburg serving opportunity stretched the lead to 28-18 en route to a 30-22 win for the Bullets.
Hallahan finished the match with 12 assists, while Prutzman ended the night with 10 kills. Cortese recorded a match-high three service aces, and sophomore Erica Rau (Oakland Park, FL/Pine Crest) had a team-best two total blocks.
The double-doubles for Barr and Cortese mark the sixth time in the last week the junior duo tallied double-digit figures in kills and digs. Barr has achieved the mark in the last four matches and Cortese in two of the last four.
Gettysburg returns to action at McDaniel on Saturday against Bryn Mawr and Haverford. The match against the Owls is at 11 a.m., and the match with the Fords follows at approximately 1:30 p.m.
Gettysburg def. McDaniel, 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-22)
Gettysburg Leaders:
Kills: Jessica Cortese 16, Nicole Barr 10, Hillary Prutzman 10. Assists: Shannan Smith 32. Digs: Michelle Dorsch 14, Barr 13, Cortese 10. Service Aces: Cortese 3. Blocks: Erica Rau 2.
McDaniel Leaders:
Kills: Kellyanne Rose 9. Assists: Jaime Bodden 19. Digs: Carrie Sniffen 14. Service Aces: Mindy Minchhoff 2. Blocks: Sniffen 2.
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