SWARTHMORE, Pa.  – The Gettysburg College volleyball team came up short in a key Centennial Conference match at Swarthmore College as the hosts held off the Bullets for a 3-2 victory. Gettysburg was also swept by the University of Scranton in a non-conference contest.
 
Gettysburg (19-7, 4-4 CC) could have helped its playoff cause with a victory, but instead it was Swarthmore (17-6, 6-2 CC) which solidified its position in the conference standings by gaining a two-game lead over the Bullets for fourth place. Gettysburg slipped into a three-way tie with McDaniel College (15-7, 4-4 CC) and Haverford College (15-11, 4-4 CC) for fifth with two matches remaining in the regular season. Only the top five teams qualify for the conference tournament.
 
After winning the opening set with the Garnet 25-21, the Bullets dropped the next two 25-10 and 25-15. Gettysburg rebounded for a 25-23 win in the fourth, but the hosts ran away with the final frame 15-6.
 
Freshman Maddie Buerle (New Providence, N.J./Union Catholic) led the offense with nine kills, while senior Maddie Weikert (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) produced eight kills and 21 digs. Sophomore Kasey Higgins (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) logged eight kills and freshman Allie Stranick (Havertown, Pa./Merion Mercy) picked up seven.
 
Senior Katherine Gilbert (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) led the defensive effort with a career-high tying 27 digs.
 
Olivia Leventhal paced Swarthmore with 19 kills, while Sarah Wallace (16 kills, 14 digs) and Mehra den Braven (14 kills, 19 digs) each notched double-doubles.
 
The afternoon's second match saw Scranton (32-2) run away from Gettysburg with scores of 25-12, 25-18, and 25-17.
 
Higgins picked up eight kills for the Bullets, while Gilbert put up 11 digs. Senior Stephanie Blair (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) and junior Rachel Gombatz (Farmington, Conn./Farmington) combined for 20 assists and 11 digs.
 
Gettysburg hosts No. 16 Johns Hopkins University (20-3, 8-0 CC) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.