College breaks Stevenson’s 41-game winning streak: Volleyball splits non-conference matchup against Stevenson and Stevens
Sophomore, Laura Bergin, posted a career-high 18 kills against Stevenson. (Photo courtesy of Meredith Tombs).
By Meredith Tombs, Contributing Writer
The Gettysburg women’s volleyball team traveled to Owings Mills, Maryland, last weekend, where they came out on top in a decisive 3-1 triumph over the Steven- son University Mustangs. The Mustangs had not lost a home game since 2011, making this a huge victory for the Lady Bullets. Sophomore Laura Bergin led the team in the attack against Stevenson, working hard for her season- high 18 kills on Saturday, October 11.
After besting the Stevenson Mustangs, Gettysburg was defeated 0-3 by Stevens Institute of Technology on that same Saturday. The lady Bullets worked hard, but could not come up with a win, falling 25-19, 25-18, and 25- 21. The Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks are 19-4 this season.
The Gettysburg Bullets met a tough first set against Stevenson, and fought for the close 27-25 win with two consecutive kills from Bergin. The Bullets carried their momentum into the second set and wound up with a quick 25-13 win. Stevenson tried to rally and came up with a 25-19 win in the third set delaying the Bullets from their ultimate victory. But Gettysburg fought for the 25-22 win in what would be the final set. Junior Courtney Morrows sealed the deal with the final kill for the victory. Junior Joosje Grevers was very pleased with the way the Bullets competed on Saturday.
“We played one of our best games against Stevenson,” she said. “Everyone was on point and worked hard for every single ball. They [Stevenson] haven’t lost a home game since 2011, so we were really pumped about it.” Stevenson University, part of the Continental Conference, holds an overall record of 18-3 this season. Gettysburg College women’s volleyball has had a strong start to the 2014 season. The team’s over- all record currently stands at 15-8. The lady Bullets’ record within the Centennial Conference this season is 2-2.
Even though the team has lost four of its seniors from last season, the young team has already shown significant improvement over last year’s 14-16 record. With no seniors on the court this season, the team looks to its four juniors as leaders: Hannah Bentz, Alesha Miller, Courtney Morrow, and Joosje Grevers. Grevers, from Westport, Connecticut, has 160 kills at this point in the season, racking up 13 in the game against Stevenson last Saturday. She is second to sophomore Laura Bergin, of Charlottesville, Virginia, who has 230 kills so far this season.
Freshman Stephanie Blair led the lady Bullets in assists against Stevenson, with an impressive 32. Blair, from Chester, New Jersey, also posted 22 digs in the Saturday game. Junior Hannah Bentz, from Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania, was another big contributor to this victory, with 24 digs and 2 assists.
Joosje Grevers is extremely proud of the way the team’s determination has been showing on the court so far this year, noting “We are really great at coming together as a team when things get tough.”
The Bullets hosted Dickinson College this past Tuesday in a Centennial Conference match that took place too late to be covered for this issue of The Gettysburgian. Their next game is Saturday, October 18th against Bryn Mawr in the Bream Wright Hauser Athletic Complex.
