THE FACTS
No. 9 Johns Hopkins (23-4) 3, Gettysburg (19-9) 1
What: Centennial Conference (CC) volleyball semifinal
When: Friday, Nov. 14
Where: Baltimore, Md.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg worked overtime to win the opening set of the 2025 Centennial Conference volleyball semifinal 30-28 but top-seeded and ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins won the next three to record a 3-1 victory.
THE LEADERS
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Erin Gonzalez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) led the Bullets with her 10th career double-double, contributing 13 kills and 12 digs to go with two blocks.
FOR THE FOES
• Simon Adam paced the Blue Jays with 19 kills, 15 digs and six total blocks.
• Alice Yu, Michela De Marzi and Celine Ebert all reached double-digit kills with 13, 12 and 11, respectively.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• Back-to-back kills from
Clare Farrell (Livingston, N.J./Academy of St. Elizabeth) opened up a 5-2 lead for Gettysburg in the opening set. Kills from three different Johns Hopkins players tied the set at 5-all. After the teams traded points, three straight
Erin Gonzalez knockdowns ignited a 6-1 run to open up a 15-10 advantage. The Blue Jays countered with three straight kills to close to within 15-13 but
Alycen Radolovic (Willoughby, Ohio/Beaumont School) got a kill to fall to stem the tide and push the lead back to three. A Gonzalez kill and
Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) ace made it a 21-16 score and forced a Hopkins timeout. Three straight Blue Jay points capped by a Charlotte Voss ace made it a two-point margin and forced Gettysburg into a timeout. An attack error and another Voss ace tied the set before
Emma Bradshaw (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) sent one to the back line to put the Bullets back in front. The set went back and forth until a Bradshaw block finally ended it 30-28 and gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.
• Behind a Simon Adam kill and two blocks, Johns Hopkins jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the second set to force an early timeout. Holding a 10-7 lead, the Blue Jays reeled off four in a row to open up a 14-7 advantage. Kills from Adam and Helena Swaak stretched the lead to 18-10 en route to a 25-15 win to tie the match at 1-all.
• Johns Hopkins took an early lead in the third set but back-to-back Bradshaw kills tied the set at 7-all. Jocelyn Pye and Alice Yu helped reopen a 10-7 edge but Gonzalez and
Gianna Galli (Demarest, N.Y./Northern Valley Demarest) brought the Bullets back even at 10. The teams traded another set of mini-runs but with the Blue Jays holding a 15-14 lead, Michela De Marzi knocked down a kill to start a 4-0 burst that pushed the advantage to 19-14. However, the teams traded points down the stretch and Johns Hopkins took the lead in the match 25-20 on a long final-point rally that finally ended with an Ebert cross-court kill.
• Two Yu kills and a Voss ace ignited a fast 7-1 start to the fourth set. Two Farrell kills and a block with Huegel helped close the margin to 8-7. The Blue Jays responded with a five of the next six points to stretch the lead back to 13-8. Pye had three straight kills during the run. Gettysburg got back to within 13-10 but that's as close as the visitors could get after Johns Hopkins reeled off five straight en route to the 25-16 win to wrap up the match.
THE INSIDE STORY
•
Nala Shearer (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) steadied the Gettysburg defense with 27 digs.
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Clare Farrell added eight kills and 12 digs in her return to the lineup.
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Mary Huegel had two blocks to finish her career with 444, which is the most by a Bullet in the rally scoring era and second all-time in program history.
• Helena Swaak had seven kills, 30 assists and 17 digs for the Blue Jays.
• Johns Hopkins will host second-seeded Franklin & Marshall in search of its ninth straight conference title on Sunday.
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