By: David Goldman, Sports Editor
Gettysburg volleyball opened up their season with the annual Battlefield Classic Tournament. The Bullets made quick work of their first opponent of the weekend, Penn State Mont Alto. Gettysburg went on a 12-0 run in the first set and kept their foots on the gas with an impressive 25-5 win over the Nittany Lions. The Lions bounced back in the second set, as the two teams traded blows before Gettysburg ran away with 25-13 victory. In the third set, Penn State Mont Alto cut the lead as close as 20-19, but the Bullets would not be denied and swept the Lions with a 25-20 win. Mary Huegel ’26 paved the way on the defensive side, with a team-high six blocks, while Alycen Radolovic ’26 and Caitlin Shaffrey ’26 led the offense, as each racked up six kills on the day.
In the Bullets’ second match of the day, they squared off against Washington and Lee. Gettysburg picked up right where they left off in set one with a 25-16 win. However, the Generals fought back in set number two, as they pulled out a nail-biting 25-23 victory. Sets three and four were also slugfests, but Washington and Lee came out on top in both and handed the Bullets their first loss of the season. Kylie Ulrich ’24 had 16 kills and two blocks, while Chelsea O’Leary ’24 racked up 23 digs and five assists in the defeat.
Gettysburg headed into the next day of the tournament with a 1-1 record and still a lot to prove. Their next opponent was Eastern Mennonite and the Bullets made quick work of them. After going down 4-1 in the first set, Gettysburg battled to get within two points at 9-7. From there, they continuously chipped away and ended up with a 25-18 win. The Bullets won by a similar score of 25-19 in the second set before completing the sweep in the third with a 25-15 victory. Halle Feth ’27 recorded a career-high 21 assists that paired nicely with a couple of aces. Ulrich led the squad in kills with 13 and Lauletta tallied eight kills, with one block and 11 digs.
The Bullet’s final opponent of the tournament was the York Spartans. In a very competitive first set, the two teams managed to tie the score on ten different occasions. However, after some back and forth, Gettysburg pulled away with a 25-23 win. The second set played out like the first, as the teams tied up twice early on until the Spartans eventually took an 8-4 lead. Gettysburg managed to go on a 7-2 run later in the set after some costly York errors. The Spartans kept fighting though and the set tied up at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 before the Bullets finally put York away with another 25-23 victory. Gettysburg jumped out to an early 7-0 led in the third behind three aces from O’Leary. They did not let up and went on multiple runs to wrap this set up with a 25-12 victory and their second sweep of the day. Catherine Holtz ’25 and Ulrich each had nine kills, while Sophie Nasir ’25 recorded 16 assists and two aces.
The Bullets finished the tournament with a solid 3-1 record and some momentum as they begin their season. Ulrich and O’Leary both made the All-Tournament team after their successful weekends.
