Box Score vs. Lycoming
Box Score vs. Scranton
Box Score vs. Eastern
GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Entering the championship match, Gettysburg had not lost a game on either day of the Battlefield
Classic tournament. After a pair of 3-0 sweeps on Friday,
the Bullets did likewise in pool play on Saturday dropping
Lycoming 3-0 before putting away Scranton with a sweep to advance to the championship match. The foe for Gettysburg in the title tilt – Eastern University. The Eagles were also 4-0 on the weekend entering the
championship match but had lost two games along the way
(Friday against York and Saturday against Moravian).
Eastern
(8-0) started strong in the title match opening game one
on a 6-1 run behind strong serving from sophomore Erin
Meredith. Back-to-back kills by Bullet junior Jessica Cortese (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) brought
the hosts back to within 6-3. Strong play by every Eagle
on the floor stretched the lead to 19-8 en route to a 30-16
win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The
Bullets may have been down, but they were not out. Gettysburg and Eastern played a very tightly contested second game
with neither team able to open more than a four point advantage.
With Gettysburg leading 10-6, the Eagles called a timeout. Momentum
gradually shifted back to Eastern until Lisa
Kubachka killed a ball
that evened the match at 16-all. Two more service points
by sophomore Tara Frazier gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game
at 18-16. The teams battled back-and-forth. At 27-27, Cortese,
who was named to the all-tournament team, served two points
to give the Bullets a 29-27 lead. A side out pulled Eastern
to within one, but the ensuing side out gave Gettysburg the win 30-28 and knotted the match at 1.
The
Eagles came out hot in game three, rolling off five straight
points to open a 5-0 lead. The Bullets gradually climbed
back into it and two service points by sophomore Shannan Smith (Milmont
Park, PA/Ridley) tied the game at 6-all. A back-and-forth
battle ensued until Patsy
Rivera (San Antonio, TX/Brackenridge) served six straight points to give Eastern a 26-20 advantage.
Gettysburg pulled to within 28-24, but could not get any closer,
and the Eagles held on for a 30-25 win and 2-1 match lead.
Game
four started much the same way the previous three did. Eastern
opened an 8-3 lead. The difference in this game was the
Eagles would extend their lead to 15-7 before the Bullets
crawled back. After pulling to within
five at 21-16, Eastern put away the game out of reach stretching
the lead back to eight at 27-19 en route to a 30-20 win
for the title.
In
the two matches to get Gettysburg to the title tilt, the Bullets had no trouble. They
disposed of Lycoming (2-2) early in the day 3-0 (32-30,
30-25, 30-26) before sweeping Scranton 30-15, 30-20, 30-24.
Leading
the way in the Lycoming match for Gettysburg was junior Nicole
Barr (Annapolis, MD/Broadneck) with
14 kills, three aces, three blocks, and 11 digs. Smith,
who was also named to the all-tournament team for the Bullets,
contributed 37 assists, while freshman Steph Vial (Hanover, PA/Delone Catholic)
steadied the defense with 13 digs.
Game
one proved to be a struggle as neither team was able to
take control. With the game knotted a 10-all, the Warriors
went on a 5-2 run capped with a strong kill by senior Melanie
McCoy for a 15-12 lead. That lead would be stretched
to 19-14 before the Bullets mounted a comeback. Cortese
served four straight points to once again tie the game,
this time at 20. The guest regained the lead at 27-24 before
a huge block by Cortese and Barr
brought the hosts to within two. With Lycoming clinging
to a 29-27 edge, Cortese once again came up big. Back-to-back kills tied the
game at 29-all. A huge dig by Barr and a block by freshman
Hillary Prutzman (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty) gave Gettysburg a 30-29 lead. A kill by McCoy once again knotted the
game before back-to-back service points by Cortese
won the game, 32-30.
Game
two had a great deal less drama. The hosts quickly jumped
out to an 8-4 lead and extended that lead to 16-8 on an
ace by Prutzman. The Warriors
climbed back to within 20-15 but could get no closer as
Gettysburg went on to win 30-25.
With
the score tied at 6-all in game three, the Warriors rolled
off five straight points for an 11-6 advantage. Barr recorded
back-to-back service points to give the Bullets a 13-12
lead. After a timeout, Barr continued the strong serving
and stretched the lead to 16-12 before Lycoming closed the
gap and once again tied the game at 18. The Bullets closed
the game on a 5-1 run to turn a 25-all tie into the 30-26
game and match victory.
Leading
the Bullets against Scranton (4-2) was Cortese with 12
kills, four aces, and eight digs. Smith also recorded 38
assists, while Vial had seven digs.
In
game one, Gettysburg and Scranton were knotted at 6-all before six straight service points
by Cortese doubled the Bullets’
score and gave the hosts a 12-6 advantage. They would not
look back in game one cruising to the 30-15 win.
Game
two was not much different. Gettysburg
started the game strong opening a 7-4 lead before the Royals
countered and drew to within two at 8-6. Strong serving
from sophomore Jayme Massey (Springfield, PA/Merion
Mercy Acad.)
turned a 13-8 advantage into a 16-8 lead. The Royals could
get no closer than six the rest of the way as Gettysburg took a 2-0 lead.
Game
three was back-and-forth much of the way before sophomore
Erica Rau (Oakland Park, FL/Pine Crest) turned a 25-22 lead
into a 28-22 advantage for the hosts and put the game, and
match, out of reach for the Royal.
Eastern’s
two other victories on the day were against Moravian (7-1)
and Mary Washington (3-4). The Eagles downed the Greyhounds
3-1 (30-12, 30-25, 23-30, 30-28) before dropping Mary Washington
3-0 (30-7, 30-13, 30-23).
The Bullets
return to action next weekend when they travel to the St. Thomas (Minn.)
Tournament.
Gettysburg def. Lycoming,
3-0 (32-30, 30-25, 30-20)
Gettysburg Leaders:
Kills:
Nicole Barr 14.
Assists: Shannon Smith 37. Aces:
Barr 3. Digs: Steph Vial 13. Blocks: Hillary Prutzman
4.
Gettysburg def. Scranton, 3-0 (30-25,
30-20, 30-24)
Gettysburg Leaders:
Kills:
Jessica Cortese 12. Assists: Smith 38. Aces: Cortese 4. Digs: Cortese
8. Blocks: Barr 4, Prutzman
4.
Eastern def. Gettysburg, 3-1 (30-16,
28-30, 30-25, 30-20)
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Complete
tournament results
