Battlefield Classic Results

GETTYSBURG, Va. – For the Gettysburg College volleyball team, it was business as usual on the first day of the Battlefield Classic as the Bullets won both of their matches handily in front of the hometown crowd in Bream Gym. After dismantling John Jay College in three sets (25-12, 25-3, 25-7), the Orange & Blue closed the day with a four-set victory (25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23) over defending Pennsylvania Athletic Conference champion Neumann College.

Gettysburg (5-1) has not lost on the opening day of the Battlefield Classic since dropping a 3-2 decision to Messiah College in 2002 – the Bullets only loss at the event in 11 years. The hosts wasted no time establishing another successful tournament with a thrashing of John Jay in the opening contest. Gettysburg lit the court for a .348 attack percentage and served up 15 aces in the match, which wrapped up in less than an hour. The Bloodhounds didn't help their cause with 14 attacking errors and 15 reception errors.

Every player that donned orange and blue saw action in the first contest. Offensively, the squad was paced by senior Meghan McConville (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) and sophomore Kate Yoder (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) who each tallied six kills. First-year Virginia Hogan (Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee) put down five kills, while sophomore Dom Provost (Saddle River, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) notched four kills on just six attempts. Sophomore Amanda Krampf (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) dished out 14 assists in just two sets.

On the defensive side of the net, freshman Paige Haber (Sonoma, Calif./Sonoma Valley) came up with six digs, while Krampf and Yoder each managed five.

Neumann (2-5) also had little trouble in a three-set win over John Jay, setting up a showdown with Gettysburg for the top spot in the teams' pool. Both teams played evenly, totaling the exact number of points in the match, but the Bullets came out with the close four-set victory thanks in large part to 11 reception errors by the Knights.

Junior Kristina Mercier (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) led the attack with 11 kills and Yoder also hit for double-figures with 10 knockdowns. Freshman Caitlin McConville (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane) recorded seven kills, while Meghan McConville (no relation to Caitlin) tallied six.

Krampf was a force offensively and defensively for Gettysburg, dishing out 33 assists and putting up 15 digs. Junior Kristin Kotewicz (Columbia, Md./River Hill) paced the dig effort with 22, while freshman Rebecca Rubenstein (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) notched 17. Rubenstein played a major factor in the service game with four aces, including the victory-clinching serves in the first and second sets.

By clinching the top seed in its pool, Gettysburg will square off with two other top pool teams on Saturday, Sept. 6. The Bullets will face Eastern University at 10 a.m. and Frostburg State University at 2 p.m. on the main court in Bream Gym. Three other schools (Salisbury University, Richard Stockton College, and Johns Hopkins University) also went undefeated on the opening day of the Classic and will challenge one another in the second pool to be played on the other half of the main gym.