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Box Score 2 GETTYSBURG, Pa. – It was a day of splits inside Bream Gym Saturday afternoon and evening with the most pivotal matchup between the Gettysburg College and Muhlenberg College volleyball teams ending in favor of the Mules.
Muhlenberg (23-5, 7-2 CC) defeated Gettysburg (19-9, 5-3 CC) in four sets (25-15, 21-25, 25-14, 25-22) to remain among the top three teams in the Centennial Conference. The Mules came up short in a marathon match with Messiah College (22-6) as the Falcons rebounded from an opening-set loss to win in five (9-25, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 16-14).
The Bullets ended on a strong note, sweeping Messiah 25-18, 25-20, and 25-22.
After watching Muhlenberg cruise to an opening-set win, Gettysburg evened the match with a win in set two. The Bullets trailed 15-14 before unleashing a five-point run capped with a kill by sophomore
Laura Bergin (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) which made it 19-15. The Mules climbed within two points, but Bergin helped put the set to rest with kills for three of Gettysburg's final four points.
Muhlenberg led for the majority of the final two frames against the Bullets. The hosts sliced an eight-point margin down to one (19-18) in the fourth set, but several untimely errors helped the Mules close out the match.
Bergin finished with a dozen kills and eight digs, while junior
Joosje Grevers (Westport, Conn./Staples) contributed 11 kills. Junior
Courtney Morrow (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) posted nine kills and four total blocks. Freshman setter
Stephanie Blair (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) tallied 32 assists and 13 digs, while junior
Hannah Bentz (Shrewsbury, Pa./Susquehannock) paced the defensive effort with 15 digs.
Katherine Boll posted 13 kills and six blocks for Muhlenberg. Allison Glass added 10 kills, 14 digs, and five blocks, while Nikki Dickson contributed 20 assists and 11 digs.
As part of the match against the Mules, Gettysburg was raising money to support The Tanner's Touch Foundation and the fight against pediatric cancer. The team took monetary pledges based on the number of digs it recorded in the match. The Bullets finished with 63 digs against Muhlenberg.
After an emotionally and physically draining battle with Muhlenberg, the Falcons were at the mercy of a well-rested and determined Gettysburg squad. The Bullets controlled the opening two sets, although Messiah sliced the deficit to 21-20 before committing three consecutive errors.
The Falcons were poised to force an extra set after a six-point run made it 19-15. An attack error handed the ball back to Gettysburg and freshman
Katherine Gilbert (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) controlled the serve for eight consecutive points to make it 24-19 in favor of the hosts. Morrow polished off the victory with a kill to the left side of the court.
Bergin finished with 16 kills and an attack percentage of .429. Morrow added seven kills and two blocks, while Grevers put down eight kills. Blair dished out 24 assists and put up a dozen digs. Junior
Alesha Miller (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford) picked up 10 digs, while Gilbert ended the day with nine digs and three aces against the Falcons.
Jane Underman posted 14 kills and Kristen Douglas added 10 kills for Messiah.
Gettysburg sits in the fifth and final spot for the conference playoff race, one game behind Johns Hopkins University (15-10, 6-2 CC) and one game ahead of Franklin & Marshall College (15-11, 4-4 CC). The Bullets will face both of those foes in the final week of the season, beginning with a road trip to see the Diplomats on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.
