THE FACTS
Gettysburg (14-8, 3-2 CC) 3, Dickinson (14-8, 2-3 CC)
What: Centennial Conference (CC) volleyball match
When: Wednesday, Oct. 22
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Trailing 2-0 in the match and trailing 5-4 in the third set, Gettysburg responded with eight straight points and used that momentum to rally for a 3-2 win against Dickinson.
THE LEADERS
•
Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) led the Bullets with the program's first kills-blocks double-double in 15 years with 15 kills and a career-high 10 blocks. She also had five digs, an ace and an assist on the night.
•
Alycen Radolovic (Willoughby, Ohio/Beaumont School) had her first 20-kill performance of the season with 20 kills to go with five digs and a block.
FOR THE FOES
• Amelia Kim led the Red Devils with 16 kills, nine digs and two blocks.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• The first set featured eight ties and five lead changes. An
Erin Gonzalez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) ace keyed a 4-0 start to the match for Gettysburg. Dickinson, however, responded with four straight points of its own and neither team led by more than two until an Eliette Whittacker kill gave the visitors an 11-8 edge and was part of a run that opened up a 13-8 advantage. The Bullets clawed back to tie the set at 15-all on a
Kierra Fox (Phoenix, Ariz./Rancho Solano Prep School) ace. An
Alycen Radolovic kill and another Fox ace helped extend the lead 19-15. Dickinson scored seven of the next nine points to retake the lead at 22-21. Back-to-back Gonzalez kills turned the one-point deficit into a one-point lead but a Whittaker was in on a block then put down a kill for the 25-23 Red Devil win.
• Dickinson jumped out to an 8-3 in the second set and held a lead as large as 19-12 before a
Mary Huegel kill and ace from
Nala Shearer (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) sparked a 7-0 run to pull even at 19-all. The Red Devils had a response, though, scoring the next two points and six of the final eight for a 25-21 lead.
• Trailing 5-4 on back-to-back Amelia Kim knockdowns, Huegel knocked down a kill of her own to tie the set. Shearer then used a pair of aces to key an 8-0 run that opened up a 12-5 lead. Huegel and Gonzalez combined for back-to-back blocks in the stretch as well. Gettysburg extended the lead to as large as 20-11 en route to a 25-17 win.
•
Kendall Erpenbeck (San Jose, Calif./Prospect) served the first four points of the fourth set and the hosts did not trail to force the deciding set. The lead grew as large as large as five three times – the last coming when Huegel joined forces with Gonzalez for her career-high 10th block of the match and make it 13-8.
Emma Bradshaw (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) added a kill to make it 14-8 and the Bullets opened up a lead as large as eight before a pair of Jessica Currie kills helped pull the Red Devils back within 22-17 but Huegel and Bradshaw wrapped it up with back-to-back kills for a 25-18 win.
• It was a back-and-forth start to the fifth set with four ties but even at 6-all, Huegel pounded home her 15th kill of the night to give her team the lead for good before taking the serve. After an error, the senior added her lone ace of the night for a 9-6 edge. Thomas responded with a kill but 9-7 was as close as Dickinson would get. Radolovic and
Ava Grall (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra) closed out the 15-8 win with back-to-back knockdowns.
THE INSIDE STORY
• The last time a Gettysburg player recorded double-digit blocks in a match was Ingrid Bayer against Rowan on Sept. 4, 2021.
Mary Huegel became the only player in program history other than Nicole Burns to record double-digit kills in the same match as she had double-digit blocks. Burns did it twice in 2010 – the last coming with the same 15-kill, 10-block line as Huegel against Dickinson in a 3-2 win on Oct. 27.
•
Erin Gonzalez added six kills and a team-high 16 digs to go with four blocks.
• Huegel also hit 481 on the night with just two errors against her 15 kills.
Alycen Radolovic hit .567, recording just three errors against her 20 kills on just 30 swings.
•
Emma Bradshaw contributed nine kills and three blocks.
•
Reece Benner (Royersford, Pa./Pope John Paul II) established career highs with 24 assists and 14 digs.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg return to action at Muhlenberg on Saturday. Match time is 1 p.m.
