The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team played host to Gettysburg on Wednesday night in the Horst Athletic Center, winning an electric five-set match 3-2. The Chargers improve to 2-5 overall while the Bullets drop to 8-4 overall.
How it Happened:
The Bullets got off to a hot start as they grabbed a 5-0 lead in set one, then extended the lead to 10-2 over the Chargers on the road. Trailing 15-5, the Chargers won three of the next four points with kills from three different players, then they rattled off five straight points as
Hannah Helmer (Fr.) ripped off three kills to pull LBC back within four at 19-15 and force a Bullets timeout. Gettysburg, however, recovered and closed fast with five points in response, winning the first set 25-17.
The teams traded the first seven points of the match before
Lea Sareyka (Sr.) landed a service ace for a 5-3 LBC lead, but the Bullets connected on five straight points to swing ahead 9-6. They continued to build their lead as they went up by six at 14-8, but the Chargers began to chip away at the deficit as the set progressed with kills from Helmer and
Jessica Fletcher (Sr.). Facing a 23-19 hole, the Chargers used two service aces from
Eden Belford (Sr.) to power a four-point run to tie the set at 23 apiece. The Bullets reached set point, but the Chargers fended it off and swung ahead on two kills by Fletcher, coming behind to steal set two 27-25 in a strong fight.
The Chargers had momentum early in set three as they used a five-point run to take a 6-3 lead with two kills by Belford. Later on,
Chloe Belford (Sr.) had two blocks as the Chargers built the lead to 11-5, but Gettysburg rattled off four in a row to cut the lead to two. Another Gettysburg surge helped to tie the set at 15-15, but
Samantha Hey (So.) started a burst of three straight points with a kill to separate. The set once again was tied at 19-all, then Gettysburg swung ahead to reach another set point on LBC before a service error got the set to extra points again. Fletcher had an ace to reach LBC set point, but the Bullets halted it and took the lead again before an
Eden Belford kill tied it at 27-27. Deep into the third set,
Kaitlyn Weitzel (Jr.) was able to ice the set for the Chargers with a service ace to finish off an electric 32-30 marathon for a 2-1 LBC match lead.
Each team had a three-point run to start set four with the Chargers' spurt being capped off with a solo block by Sareyka. The Bullets used a run of four to build a 10-5 lead, then later completely seized control of the set as they earned 12 consecutive points to speed-run a 25-8 set victory as the Chargers struggled to find their footing, forcing a decisive fifth set in the Horst Athletic Center for the second straight game.
Hey and Sareyka got LBC started strong in set five with back-to-back kills, then a kill and an ace by Sareyka powered the Chargers to an early 7-3 advantage. Gettysburg battled right back into it as they tied it up at 8-8, then swung ahead 12-10 with a couple of blocks aiding their cause. Sareyka and Helmer answered the call for LBC with three kills combined to swing LBC back in front and force match point, but two straight kills by the Bullets gave them the advantage at 15-14. The Chargers surged to close the set in emphatic fashion as the sequence went Sareyka-Helmer-Fletcher on three straight kills to give LBC a 17-15 fifth set win to close out the Bullets at home.
By the Numbers:
Team Stats
- Kills: Gettysburg 56,
Lancaster Bible 60
- Digs: Gettysburg 102,
Lancaster Bible 103
- Blocks:
Gettysburg 11, Lancaster Bible 8
- Aces:
Gettysburg 14, Lancaster Bible 8
Key Performances
-
Lea Sareyka: 15 Kills (season-high), 12 Digs, 2 Aces
-
Hannah Helmer: 14 Kills
(career-high)
-
Jessica Fletcher: 21 Digs
(career-high), 4 Blocks
-
Madeline Reed (Sr.): 26 Assists (season-high), 11 Digs
- Emma Bradshaw (GET): 15 Kills, 4 Blocks
- Nala Shearer (GET): 32 Digs (match-high), 5 Aces (match-high)
Information to Know:
This was the Chargers' first-ever victory over Gettysburg all-time and their first time facing the Bullets since 2019. The Chargers have played back-to-back five-set matches for the first time since September 13, 2023 against Boyce and Brevard (N.C.) and notched their first five-set victory since November 2, 2024 at home against Arcadia. The Chargers have had 100+ digs in back-to-back matches for the first time in the program's NCAA Division III history, recording 102 on Friday against Franklin & Marshall and 103 tonight against the Bullets.
Madeline Reed advanced into 3rd-Place in LBC program history in career assists tonight with 1,828 overall, passing Nikki Eberly (2001-03) on the all-time list.
Lea Sareyka entered the top-10 in program history for service aces tonight as she sits at 144 for her career, tying Sukey Reed (2001-04) for 10th-most all-time.
Up Next:
The Chargers will begin United East competition this Saturday, September 26 as they host their first tri-match of the season, taking on Penn College in conference play at 11:00 a.m. followed by a non-conference match with Keuka at 3:00 p.m.
