THE FACTS
Gettysburg (10-3) 3, Messiah (8-4) 1
What: Non-conference women's volleyball match
When: Saturday, September 22
Where: Grantham, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Messiah and Gettysburg each took one set handily, and played the others to just a two-point differential for a 3-1 Gettysburg match win to remain unbeaten in the Messiah Quad.
THE LEADERS
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Kylie Ulrich (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) led the Gettysburg attack with 13 kills
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Alycen Radolovic (Willoughby, Ohio/The Beaumont School) added nine kills.
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Chelsea O'Leary (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and
Callie Pidoriano (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Hendrick Hudson) notched 19 and 13 digs, respectively. Pidoriano also had two aces.
FOR THE FOES
• Cassidy Dell led the Falcons in kills with nine.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Set one between Messiah and Gettysburg saw both teams trading points throughout, with the score differential never exceeding five all the way through. Gettysburg began with the 3-1 lead before Messiah used a Gettysburg error and service ace to even things up 3-all. The teams tied 11 more times after that point, but Messiah stole two points on Bullets' errors and a kill to open up a 19-16 lead.
Kylie Ulrich interrupted things with a kill, but Messiah rattled off another three to lead 22-17, the largest lead for either team in the set. An
Izzy Lugar (Wilmington, Del./Charter School of Wilmington) started a 4-0 run to bring Gettysburg back within one point, 22-21, and the teams tied again at 23, 24, and 25-all to go to extra points in the first set. The Bullets were able to take set one on a Messiah error and
Erin Gonzalez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) kill.
• It was a different story in set two as Messiah went on a run and never looked back. After early ties as late as 8-all, Messiah registered two blocks to one kill by Ulrich for a Falcons 10-9 lead. From that point, the Falcons flew out to a 21-9 lead via 11 straight points. Gettysburg finally was able to break up the momentum by getting a point off a set error by Messiah, but the Falcons hit three straight to make it 24-10 at Messiah set point. Gettysburg tried to claw their way back with a
Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) block and
Alycen Radolovic kill, but a final kill for Messiah's Cassidy Dell ended set two, 25-13.
• Gettysburg responded to their tough second set loss with an early 10-3 run in set three, fueled by Falcons errors and two kills by
Olivia Biggs (Winchester, Va./James Wood). Messiah responded with two straight spikes to bring the set back within five, and
Brooke Lauletta (Coatesville, Pa./Downingtown East) and Lugar added kills of their own to double up on Messiah, 12-6. From there, the teams traded points to a 16-8 Gettysburg score, with kills by Ulrich and Radolovic contributing to Gettysburg doubling up on Messiah yet again and forcing a Falcons timeout. Out of the break, Gettysburg made an 8-2 sprint to set point, 24-10, capitalizing on four Messiah errors. A final Falcons error in the set ended things 25-10 for Gettysburg, making it a 2-1 match score.
• The Falcons got out to a 6-1 lead fueled by Gettysburg errors to start the fourth set. Gettysburg countered with an 8-5 run that included several Falcons mistakes and two
Callie Pidoriano aces to overtake the hosts and notch an 11-9 lead, forcing a Messiah timeout. From there, the teams traded kills to tie at 12, 13, and 14-all. Lugar, Lauletta, and Huegel each had a kill within the back-and-forth. A block by Radolovic and Huegel helped the Bullets to lead by two, 16-14, but two straight Gettysburg errors resulted in another tie. The teams tied three more times before a Lauletta kill and
Chelsea O'Leary service ace gave the Bullets the 21-19 set four lead, forcing a Falcons timeout. Out of the break, the score was tied twice more at 22 and 23-all. Radolovic and Sarah Hart traded kills to notch a 24-23 score, and Radolovic closed things out with a final kill to win the fourth set, 25-23.
THE INSIDE STORY
• The teams were even in kills with 40 apiece, while Gettysburg held narrow advantages in aces (8-7), digs (80-76), and assists (37-36).
• Messiah committed 30 errors to Gettysburg's 26.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg will return to action at 3 p.m. to conclude competition at the Messiah Quad with a game against SUNY Brockport.
