THE FACTS
Carnegie Mellon (10-1) 3, Gettysburg (7-3) 2
Gettysburg (8-3) 3, Messiah (7-4) 1
What: Non-conference volleyball matches
When: Saturday, Sept. 19
Where: Grantham, Pa.
THE SKINNY STORY
Gettysburg forced a fifth set against Carnegie Mellon before falling 15-13 in the deciding set but bounced back to defeat Messiah 3-1 on the final day of the Messiah Invitational.
THE LEADERS
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Clare Farrell (Livingston, N.J./Academy of Saint Elizabeth) led the Bullets with 34 kills in the two matches to go with 16 digs and a pair of blocks. Farrell had 16 kills and hit .295 against CMU before knocking down 18 and hitting .381 against Messiah.
FOR THE FOES
• Kate Giang led the Tartans with 26 kills and 14 digs.
• Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with 11 kills.
THE REST OF THE STORY
• In the opening set, Carnegie Mellon jumped out to a 3-0 lead and did not trail in the set. Back-to-back
Clare Farrell kills made it 14-13 but Bryn Shern knocked down a kill and the Tartans took the opening set, 25-20.
• Tied at 2-all after a back-and-forth start to the second set, Zoe Gavros put down an ace as part of a 4-0 run that opened up a 5-2 lead and Carnegie Mellon stretched it out to a 25-16 lead an 2-0 advantage in the match.
• Three Farrell kills in the first four points helped open up an early 5-0 lead for Gettysburg. The Tartans clawed back to tie the set at 5-all. Trailing 6-5, Farrell knocked down her third of the set to start a 5-0 run. The advantage grew as large as 15-9 on an
Ellen Manke (Madison, N.J./Morristown Beard School) quick kill before the Bullets finished it off with knockdowns from
Emma Bradshaw (East Setauket, N.Y./Ward Melville), Farrell and
Kaitlyn Hedrich (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln Way) for a 25-18 win.
• Two Neha Tummala aces helped the Tartans build a 3-0 lead but six straight points, including an
Erin Gonzalez (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) ace turned the tables and gave the Bullets a 9-6 edge. Tied at 23-all,
Ava Grall (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./Ponte Vedra) and Manke forced the deciding set with back-to-back kills.
• Tied at 2-all, Carnegie Mellon reeled off seven straight points that Kate Giang capped with back-to-back knockdowns. Back-to-back Bradshaw kills helped ignite a rally that drew the set back even at 13-all but Giang and Sophie Pan put it away for the Tartans, 15-13.
• Messiah scored the first four points of the opening set and extended the advantage to 10-2 on a Lexi Hetrick kill en route to a 25-17 win.
• Gettysburg flipped the script in the second set, scoring the first three points and did not trail in the set. Holding a 7-6 edge, Gonzalez knocked down a kill then served the next seven points to open up a 14-6 lead en route to a 25-10 victory to tie the match at 1-all.
• The third set was much more back-and-forth with neither leading by more than one until a Makenzie Adams ace made it a 10-8 Falcons lead. The Bullets, however, scored the next three points to retake the lead and it was once again back-and-forth. Gettysburg took a 15-12 lead and did not trail again in the 25-20 win.
• Messiah took an early 6-3 lead on a Hetrick kill in the fourth set but Gonzalez responded to start a 7-0 counter to take a 10-6 lead on a Bradshaw kill. Another six straight points turned a 10-9 score into a 16-9 lead en route to the 25-13 finish to the match.
THE INSIDE STORY
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Nala Shearer (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) steadied the defense with 44 digs on the day, including 26 against Carnegie Mellon.
• Erin Gonzlez chipped in 19 kills and 20 digs in the two matches.
NEXT UP
Gettysburg returns to action at Lancaster Bible on Wednesday. Match time is 7 p.m.
