Photo Galleries (David Sinclair): Hood | Haverford

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College volleyball team was thrown challenges throughout the 2009 season, but the team persevered through all obstacles to put together another winning campaign.

The Bullets posted a 19-9 overall record for their 32nd consecutive winning season and they finished runner-up in the Centennial Conference Tournament. It wasn't a smooth ride to the end, however, as the Orange and Blue battled through injuries and absences from day one.

From the get-go, the Bullets ran into a small road block as Head Coach Alexa Keckler gave birth to her second child less than a week before the first contest. However, a well-prepared assistant coaching staff consisting of Sam Abrams, Leah Bernier, and Dana Alexander and an experienced senior class whipped the team into shape. Gettysburg cruised in its opening two non-conference contests, sweeping both Lancaster Bible College and Hood College.

The Orange and Blue faced stiff competition at its own Battlefield Classic on Sept. 4-5, but once again the team banded together to earn a quartet of impressive victories, including ending Salisbury University's 35-match regular-season unbeaten streak. Senior Kristina Mercier (Baltimore, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) and junior Kate Yoder (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) each earned all-tournament after posting 36 and 38 kills, respectively.

Gettysburg ran its longest winning streak in 18 years to 8-0 with wins over York (Pa.) College and Elizabethtown College before a rough stretch in the season took hold. With injuries to key players, including Yoder, and a shuffling of the lineup, the Bullets dropped seven of their next 10 contests, including 3-0 conference setbacks at the hands of Haverford College and Franklin & Marshall College.

Another loss at Ursinus College seemed imminent after Gettysburg fell behind 2-0, but the team bounced back to take the final three sets from the Bears and start a new winning streak. The team won its next seven matches, including a sweep of Susquehanna University, ending a nine-match winning streak for the Crusaders.

Despite a five-set loss to Muhlenberg College to end the regular season, the Orange and Blue finished third in the CC with a 7-3 mark, grabbing the No. 3 seed. In a rematch with Franklin & Marshall in the conference tournament semifinals, Gettysburg produced a season-high tying 17 aces to pick up a four-set victory. The year came to a close in the championship match as Haverford downed the Bullets for the second year in a row.

Four Bullets copped All-CC accolades, led by senior setter Amanda Krampf (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) who was named first team for the second time in her career. Krampf finished third in the league in assists per set (8.61) and 10th in digs per set (3.48), while leading the team with 42 aces.

Mercier and Yoder were each labeled second team as Gettysburg's top hitters. Mercier ranked 10th in the CC at 2.6 kills per set and Yoder was third in the league in attack percentage at .322.

Senior libero Kristin Kotewicz (Columbia, Md./River Hill) also picked up all-conference laurels as an honorable mention selection. She posted the sixth-highest dig total in school history with 487 and finished second overall in the Centennial at 4.87 digs per set.

Senior Stephanie Rickabaugh (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) was one of the Bullets' unsung heroes with her consistent play on the right side. She averaged 1.52 kills and 1.98 digs with a total of 49 blocks. She was named to the CC All-Sportsmanship Team.

Gettysburg also received timely contributions from junior Nicole Burns (Horsham, Pa./Hatboro) and sophomore Virginia Hogan (Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee) on the front line. Burns led Gettysburg with 73 total blocks and Hogan was second on the team with 198 kills. Sophomore Katie McConville (Cold Harbor, N.Y./Haldane) also chipped in offensively with 1.77 kills per set.

Senior Mekenna Sigai (Baltimore, Notre Dame Prep), and sophomores Rebecca Rubenstein (Bedford Hills, N.Y./Fox Lane) and Brooke Wano (New Derry, Pa./New Derry) played key roles on the defense, each averaging over one dig.

The senior class of Krampf, Kotewicz, Mercier, Rickabaugh, and Sigai leave big shoes to fill for next season, but the team should be up to the challenge of putting together another winning campaign as 10 letterwinners are slated to return.