THE FACTS
Carnegie Mellon (1-0) 3, Gettysburg (0-1) 1
Gettysburg (1-1) 3, Neumann (0-2) 0
What: Non-conference volleyball matches
When: Friday, Aug. 29
Where: Gettysburg, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg won the opening set of the season before Carnegie Mellon rallied for a 3-1 win. The Bullets, however, bounced back with a 3-0 win over Neumann to split a pair of matches on the opening day of the 2025 Battlefield Classic.
THE LEADERS
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Ava Grall (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra) led the Bullets over the two matches, contributing a total of 18 kills and 17 digs. She also had six aces over the two matches. In the opener, she recorded 12 kills and hit .323 while chipping in three aces and eight digs before recording six kills, four aces and nine digs against Neumann.
FOR THE FOES
• Elizabeth Schlemmer led the Tartans with 14 kills, nine digs and two aces.
• Melissa Eddy paced the Knights with six kills, eight digs, a block and ace.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• In the first set against Carnegie Mellon, Gettysburg pieced together an 8-3 run that forced a Tartans timeout at 17-9.
Ava Grall had three kills late in the stretch. Out of the stoppage, CMU scored eight of the next 10 points to close to within 19-17 and the set remained within four points the rest of the way. Tied at 24-all,
Emma Bradshaw (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville) knocked down a kill before
Gianna Galli (Demarest, N.J./Northern Valley Demarest) and
Alycen Radolovic (Willoughby, Ohio/Beaumont School) combined for the third Bullet block of the set for a 26-24 win.
• Gettysburg scored the first three points of the second set and opened up a lead as large as 6-1. Trailing 9-4, Katre Giang started a run of four straight points that made it 9-8 before eventually taking a 13-12 edge on back-to-back Julianna McFarland aces. The teams traded points before a Kai Herchenroether kill started a run of five straight that opened up a 19-14 lead en route to a 25-20 win, tying the match at 1-all.
• The Bullets led for most of the third set, opening up an advantage as large as 14-8 on a
Nala Shearer (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) ace that forced a timeout. Neha Tummala aces around a Gettysburg timeout turned an 18-16 deficit into a tie score for the first time since 3-all. Grall and Bradshaw responded with the next two knockdowns and Gettysburg led 22-18 before Carnegie Mellon went on a 7-1 closing run to win 25-23 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Tartans took that momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Gettysburg eventually tied the score at 10all and back-to-back
Kendall Erpenbeck (San Jose, Calif./Prospect) aces gave the hosts a 14-11 lead. Tied at 18-all, three straight CMU kills made it 21-18 en route to a 25-20 victory and the match.
• Against Neumann, the first set featured eight ties and five lead changes, including as late as 21-all. A Radolovic kill and Shearer ace, however, pushed it to set point. After a Knights block made it 24-22, Galli put down her second kill of the set for a 25-22 win.
• Grall served seven straight points to start the second set, including three straight aces, and Neumann never got closer than six points the rest of the way. The lead grew as large as 20-9 on an
Ellen Manke (Madison, N.J./Morristown Beard School) kill en route to a 25-12 victory.
• Trailing 2-1 in the third set, Grall took the ball and served another four straight to give her team a 5-2 lead early. The teams traded service errors before Manke put together another run of four straight to build a 10-3 advantage en route to a 25-13 win and the sweep.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Alycen Radolovic joined
Ava Grall in double-digit kills against Carnegie Mellon with 10.
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Nala Shearer steadied the defense with 21 digs to go with two aces and two assists.
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Kendall Erpenbeck and
Halle Feth (Castle Rock, Colo./Douglas County) contributed 19 and 18 assists, respectively.
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Mary Huegel (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) dropped down eight blocks in the opener while
Emma Bradshaw debuted with five blocks to go with her seven kills.
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Erin Gonzalez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) contributed 11 kills, six digs and two blocks against Neumann.
• Feth and Erpenbeck had 17 and 15 assists, respectively, while Erpenbeck also added seven digs.
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Kierra Fox (Phoenix, Ariz./Rancho Solano Prep School) led the defense with 10 digs to go with two aces.
NEXT UP
The Bullets return to action in the second day of the Battlefield Classic on Saturday. Gettysburg opens the day against Shenandoah at 11 a.m. and caps the weekend against Otterbein at 4 p.m.
