Semifinal (at Gettysburg): #1 Gettysburg d. #4 Haverford, 30-26, 30-28, 30-27
Semifinal (at Gettysburg): #2 Franklin & Marshall d. #3 Johns Hopkins, 23-30, 30-25, 30-19, 30-22
Final (at Gettysburg): #1 Gettysburg d. #2 Franklin & Marshall, 30-25, 27-30, 30-26, 27-30, 19-17

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.

Sophomore Nicole Barr (Annapolis, MD/Broadneck) matched her career high with 25 kills and only five errors for a .408 hitting percentage, and Jessica Cortese (Lancaster, PA/Hempfield) added 18 kills and collected 15 digs to help the Bullets defeat Franklin & Marshall in five sets in the CC championship match on Saturday.

Gettysburg reached the finals with a 3-0 win over Haverford to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Fords in the regular season.

Lauren Boyd (Millersville, MD/Severna Park) posted a team-high 20 digs and dished out 59 assists while Erin Barkdoll (Dover, PA/Dover) 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 (Oakland Park, FL/Pine Crest) gave Gettysburg a 16-15 lead for its first match point.

A kill from Heidi Goedicke tied the game at 16, but the Bullets answered back with a Barkdoll kill to go up 17-16.

Rosemary Hartman's 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.

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. Barr tallied the final kill for the 30-26 victory and a 2-1 edge in the match.

In the semifinal win over Haverford, Barr led the way with 15 kills, 10 digs and six blocks while Cortese buried 13 kills and added 17 digs.

Never trailing in a 30-26 game-one win, Gettysburg had more of a challenge in game two. The Bullets took their first lead at 21-17 and built their advantage to 28-23. The Fords pulled within one at 29-28, but a two-handed tap kill from Boyd sealed the win. Game three was tied at 25, before Gettysburg rallied for four straight points and Barr capped the 30-27 win with another kill.

Boyd added 41 assists and 11 digs while Barkdoll recorded nine kills in the semifinal match.

With the victory over F&M, Gettysburg won for the first time in five tries this season when playing in a decisive fifth set.

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.