COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Bidding for the first victory over Gettysburg in program history, the Ursinus College volleyball team got off to a fast start with a first-set victory over their Centennial Conference foe. But the Bullets struck back in a big way, hitting .323 the rest of the way to rally for a 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-7) victory in the Bears' long-awaited home opener.
Freshman setter Kelly Piotrowicz notched the first triple-double by an Ursinus player since 2013 with 10 kills, 15 assists, and 14 digs, accomplishing a feat she had twice missed by the slimmest of margins. Junior outside hitter Allison Raff added her fifth double-double with team highs of 12 kills and 16 digs for the Bears (5-4, 0-2), who limited the Bullets to an -.056 hitting percentage in an impressive first set before the visitors restored order.
Ursinus, which fell to 0-41 all-time against Gettysburg, served immediate notice that this edition of the series would be no guarantee. Junior right side spurred the home side to a 10-4 start with three kills, and the Bears maintained that six-point edge after a kill by senior Sam Murphy that made it 16-10. The Bullets got within four by taking the next two points, but consecutive attack errors and another kill by McCartney stretched the margin out to 20-12. Gettysburg won six straight points to close within two, but two kills by Raff and one by Piotrowicz helped Ursinus pull out a 25-19 decision.
The Bears led 8-7 in the second set following consecutive spikes by Piotrowicz, but Gettysburg captured the next three points and never looked back. The visitors evened the match with a 25-18 tally in the second set, then jumped out to an 8-2 advantage on the way to a 25-15 spread in the third. Despite a service error to open the fourth frame, the Bullets ran off six straight points and 12 of the next 13, eventually leading by as much as 23-4 before clinching the match on a 25-7 decision.
Francesca Garison collected a match-high 14 kills and added seven digs for Gettysburg, which hit .217 for the match. Laura Bergin had 10 kills and seven digs, while Lauren Godshalk posted nine kills and five blocks. Stephanie Blair dished out a match-high 36 assists and eight digs, and Maddie Weikert paired eight kills with nine digs and recorded two of Gettysburg's eight aces.
McCartney notched a season high with seven kills for Ursinus, and sophomore Sydney Gonzalez added 11 digs.
The Bears break from CC play to take on Penn State-Abington on the road on Thursday, September 22.
