Gettysburg College Athletics

Tonight's Centennial Conference (CC) match marks the 65th all-time meeting between Gettysburg (16-2, 2-1 CC) and Franklin & Marshall (15-3, 4-0 CC) in a series that dates back to 1976. The Bullets lead the all-time series 41-23 and swept two meetings last season. The Diplomats had won nine of the 11 meetings before last season.

WHEN LAST WE MET: In a 2-1 hole to third-seeded Franklin & Marshall, second-seeded Gettysburg did not trail in the fourth set to force a winner-take-all fifth set. With a championship-match berth on the line, the Bullets found themselves trailing 9-6 in the deciding set before scoring five straight and capturing the victory 15-10 in last season's CC semifinal. Alycen Radolovic knocked down a career-best 23 kills and hit .462 on the night to lead the Gettysburg attack. Gianna Mangiamele led four Diplomats in double-figure kills with 17. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

FIVE-STAR WORTHY: Tonight's rematch of last season epic five-set conference semifinal has huge ramifications on the 2024 standings. Gettysburg has already taken a conference loss - albeit to preseason favorite Johns Hopkins - while Franklin & Marshall (along with Saturday's foe for the Bullets - Swarthmore) enters this week at 4-0. If Gettysburg comes out of this week unscathed, the Bullets will hold the upper hand for a top-two seed and semifinal hosting rights again. Two of the Diplomats' final three matches this season are against Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins. 

LAST TIME OUT: Gettysburg jumped out to a 2-0 lead before Haverford forced a fourth set but the Bullets came away with a 26-24 win to record a 3-1 road win on Saturday. Clare Farrell led the Bullets with her first collegiate double-double, recording 14 kills and 10 digs. She was one of four players with double-digit kills and one of three with double-digit digs. Nala Shearer led the defense with 21 digs to go with five assists and an ace. Gia Frank led the Fords with 16 kills and hit .419 on the day. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

BLOCK PARTY: Gettysburg is currently third in the conference at 1.86 blocks per set as a team. However, the Bullets have recorded nine or more blocks in three of their last six outings, including a season-high 14 in just three sets to open the CC slate against Muhlenberg. Mary Huegel is second in the conference at 1.18 blocks per set with 77 total blocks on the season. The junior is two blocks shy of 300 for her career. She would become just the seventh Bullet in program history to reach that mark.

LAST TIME OUT: Franklin & Marshall swept Bryn Mawr (25-8, 25-16, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon. Gianna Mangiamele had a team-high 10 kills on 13 swings (.769 hitting percentage), leading the Diplomats' offense that posted a .388 hitting percentage as a team. Emily Dean had a career-high four aces. (Full Recap) (Box Score)

THREE AND OUT: The Diplomats have had 14 of their 18 matches this season finish in sweeps. Franklin & Marshall is 12-2 in three-setters this season. The only two wins in which the Diplomats needed more than three sets were a 3-1 at Babson on Sept. 6 and a 3-2 win over Muhlenberg in the conference opener at Muhlenberg on Sept. 28. Since that five-setter with the Mules, F&M has played five 3-0 matches, including winning four in a row by sweep. The Diplomats have lost the first set six times this season, including in all four matches that went to four or five sets.