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GETTYSBURG, PA - The Gettysburg volleyball team captured its eighth Centennial Conference (CC) championship and will return to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in the past eight seasons as the Bullets defeated Franklin & Marshall in five sets in the CC Championship match. For Gettysburg, sophomore Nicole Barr matched her career high with 25 kills against only five errors for a .408 hitting percentage, and Jessica Cortese added 18 kills and collected 15 digs to help the Bullets claim the Conference Championship trophy. Lauren Boyd posted a team-high 20 digs and dished out 59 assists while Erin Barkdoll added 10 kills and five digs for the Bullets' second straight CC title. Down 15-14 in the final set and facing match point for the Diplomats, Gettysburg took its final timeout before rallying for the dramatic victory. A Franklin & Marshall attack error tied the game at 15 and a block by Barr and Erica Rau gave Gettysburg a 16-15 lead for its first match point. A kill from Heidi Goedicke (Sr., Spring Church, PA/Elderton) tied the game at 16, but the Bullets answered back with a Barkdoll kill to go up 17-16. Rosemary Hartmann's (Sr., Warminster, PA/William Tennent) kill tied the game at 17, but it was the last point that Franklin & Marshall would score. A Diplomat service error gave the Bullets the final edge they needed, before Barkdoll knocked down the last of her 10 kills for the victory. Down 2 games to 1, the Diplomats took a 24-18 lead in game four and held off a late Gettysburg surge to force a fifth set behind a 30-27 victory. Gettysburg won the opening game, taking a 7-1 lead en route to a 30-25 win. F&M rallied for a 30-27 win in game two before the Bullets answered by capturing the third game. Versus Gettysburg, Goedicke registered a team high 18 digs and 20 digs, while setter Jackie Skibbie (Fr., Darby, PA/Merion Mercy) handed out 57 assists. With the victory over F&M, Gettysburg won for the first time in five tries this season when playing in a decisive fifth set. Gettysburg and F&M advanced to the title game following seminfinal games versus Haverford and Johns Hopkins, respectively. Versus Hopkins, the Diplomats rallied from a 23-30 defeat in game one to sweep the next three games behind 16 kills from Hartmann for a 3-1 win. Gettysburg used 15 kills and 10 digs from Barr in a 3-0 victory. Franklin & Marshall (28-9) will await word from the National Collegiate Athletic Association and Eastern College Athletic Conference Selection Committees regarding berths in either the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament or the ECAC Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament. In 1999, F&M advanced to the NCAA playoffs courtesy an at large bid, and participated in the ECAC tournament last year. The Bullets will open NCAA tournament play on Thursday. Game time and location are to be determined. The NCAA field will be announced on Sunday evening with ECAC selections slated for Monday afternoon. CC Semifinals
F&M d. Johns Hopkins, 3-1 (23-30, 30-25, 30-19, 30-22)
Gettysburg d. Haverford, 3-0 (30-26, 30-28, 30-27) CC Championship
Gettysburg d. Franklin & Marshall, 3-2 (30-25, 27-30, 30-26, 27-30, 19-17)
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