THE FACTS
Middlebury (18-10) 3, Gettysburg (24-6) 1
What: NCAA Div. III volleyball championship second round
When: Friday, Nov. 22
Where: Huntingdon, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Middlebury captured a two-point win in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match before Gettysburg won the third set but the Panthers responded with a 25-13 victory in the fourth set for a 3-1 win in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Div. III volleyball championship tournament at Juniata.
THE LEADERS
•
Alycen Radolovic (Willoughby, Ohio/Beaumont School) led the Bullets with 13 kills.
• Senior
Catherine Holtz (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) chipped in nine kills and four blocks while
Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) added nine kills and six blocks.
FOR THE FOES
• Molly Harrison recorded 23 kills and 15 digs to lead the Panthers, who advance to Saturday's regional championship against the winner of the night's second match between top-ranked Juniata and Virginia Wesleyan.
• Gabby O'Toole added 48 assists to the offense while contributing three kills, 14 digs, an ace and a block.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Tied at 4-all in the opening set, a service error followed by a
Gianna Galli (Demarest, N.J./Northern Valley Demarest) kill and two from
Alycen Radolovic gave Gettysburg an 8-4 lead. Middlebury drew even at 10-all on a Devin McCormack kill. Kills from three different Bullets opened up a 13-10 advantage. Back-to-back Annabella Rando aces evened the set at 14-all. An Ella Pate ace gave the Panthers ad 19-17 lead and forced a Gettysburg timeout. The lead grew to 22-17 before a Galli kill momentarily halted the run. Another blocking error retuned the Middlebury advantage to five and the teams traded points for a 25-20 Panthers win.
• After a back-and-forth start to the second set, a tip attack that landed just out gave Gettysburg an 8-7 edge before three straight blocks – all with
Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) involved – pushed the lead to 11-7. A pair of Gabby O'Toole kills around a violation ignited a 9-3 counter that gave Middlebury a 16-14 edge. Back-to-back knockdowns from Radolovic and
Erin Gonzalez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) drew the Bullets back even. After the teams traded points, an Ava Tuccio-Molly Harrison block gave the Panthers a 21-19 edge and that was the advantage Middlebury needed to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-23 victory.
• Tuccio knocked down a pair of kills to start the third set but a
Catherine Holtz kill and two Gonzalez aces flipped the deficit into a 3-2 Bullets lead. A pair of
Kendall Erpenbeck (San Jose, Calif./Prospect) aces pushed the lead to 11-7 but Gabby Pribisich found the back line to tie the set at 12-all. The teams traded answers until a Pate ace capped a run of three straight points for a 19-16 edge. Gettysburg came back to draw the set even at 20-all when Holtz sent back an overpass one point after joining Galli for a block. Tied at 21-all, two Radolovic kills keyed a 4-0 finish to the set that gave the Bullets a 25-21 win and forced a fourth set.
• Four straight points capped by a Campbell Keller ace staked Middlebury to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set. The lead eventually grew to 12-8 on a Tuccio block before the teams traded points. Leading 13-10, the Panthers reeled off nine straight points to take control of the match and eventually complete the victory.
THE INSIDE STORY
• The 24 wins in the season by Gettysburg were the most in a single year since going 28-6 in 2004. The .800 winning percentage was also the best since that season (.824).
•
Nala Shearer (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) led the defense with 17 digs. She also had an ace and six assists.
