THE FACTS
Gettysburg (7-2) 3, William Smith (6-3) 1
What: Non-conference women's volleyball match
When: Saturday, September 16
Where: Salisbury, M.D.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg picked up close wins in the first two sets before dropping the third to William Smith. The Bullets roared back in the fourth set, however, to win and end the match 3-1.
THE LEADERS
• Senior libero
Chelsea O'Leary (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) officially joined the 1,000 digs club during the fourth set. O'Leary becomes just the 22nd Bullet in Gettysburg College Volleyball history to reach 1,000 digs.
•
Catherine Holtz (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) led the attack with 11 kills to go with three blocks.
FOR THE FOES
• Malya Sayre hit a match-high 23 kills.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• William Smith held on to a slim 10-4 lead early in the first set, fueled in equal part by kills and Gettysburg errors. The Bullets responded with a 9-2 run to overtake the Herons, 15-12.
Kylie Ulrich (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield),
Alycen Radolovic (Willoughby, Ohio/Beaumont School) and
Sophie Nasir (Covina, Calif./St Lucy's Priory) registered kills within the stretch. Again the response was swift as William Smith rattled off three more to tie the score for the first time since an early 1-all tie. The teams would tie five more times before Gettysburg reached set point, 25-24, on a kill by
Brooke Lauletta (Coatesville, Pa./Downingtown East). A block by
Catherine Holtz and
Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) ended the first set, 26-24.
• The teams notched four early ties, the last at 4-all, before Gettysburg hit four straight to double up on the Herons, 8-4, with Ulrich hitting two kills during the run. Errors by William Smith and kills by Huegel and Holtz propelled the lead to 14-7, and it swelled as large as 20-10 on the back of Radolovic kills and Gettysburg service aces. William Smith tried to stay in it, putting together a 11-3 run to bring themselves all the way to within two points without Gettysburg reaching set point. The Bullets finally broke through on a Herons error to make the set two score 24-21, before a Nasir ace gave Gettysburg the second set win.
• Gettysburg and William Smith once again remained close in the third set, with three ties, the last at 10-all. From there, William Smith went off for a 4-2 run before Gettysburg countered with a 2-0 spurt to tie the score again, 14-all. The score would tie three more times as the teams battled to a 19-all mark, before the Herons tallied two kills and a block to hold a 22-19 edge. The Bullets managed two more points on the set on William Smith errors before the Herons won the set, 25-21, to keep them in the match.
• In the final set, Gettysburg and William Smith tied nine times total, including early ties from back and forth play that resulted in a 15-all knot. Gettysburg strung together a 6-2 run, with kills by
Olivia Biggs (Winchester, Va./James Wood), Lauletta, and Holtz, to earn a 21-17 lead. O'Leary also recorded her 1,000th career dig during the stretch. The Herons got within two, 22-20, before two straight Herons errors and a set-ending block by Radolovic and Biggs earned Gettysburg their first match win of the Salisbury trimatch.
THE INSIDE STORY
• William Smith dominated in kills, 53-37, but the Bullets had a huge advantage in blocks, 7-1.
•
Sophie Nasir and
Halle Feth (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) each put up 11 assists.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg will return to action today in the second match of the Salisbury trimatch, against hosts Salisbury. Game time is 3 p.m.
