GETTYSBURG, Pa.  – The Gettysburg College volleyball team shook off an opening-set loss to push No. 17 Johns Hopkins University to a four-set loss in a Centennial Conference match up inside Bream Gym Wednesday night.
 
After dropping the opening set 25-10, Gettysburg (19-8, 4-5 CC) bounced back for a 25-22 decision in the second set. Johns Hopkins (21-3, 9-0 CC) held off the Bullets 26-24 in the third set and closed with a 25-19 decision.
 
The hosts led by a slim margin for most of the second set and surged in front 17-13 with a four-point run sparked by back-to-back kills by sophomore Shannon Fletcher(Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) on overpasses. The Blue Jays rallied to tie the match 18-18 and trailed just 23-22 before a timeout by Gettysburg.
 
An attacking error by the visitors put the hosts on the verge of the win and sophomore Kasey Higgins (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) completed the decision with a kill.
 
The third set was a back-and-forth affair featuring 17 ties and nine lead changes. Johns Hopkins went ahead 23-19 following a kill by Simone Bliss, but Gettysburg rallied to tie it twice, including on a kill by Higgins that made it 24-24. An attack error by the Bullets set the stage for Morgan Wu to serve up an ace and put Hopkins ahead 2-1.
 
Gettysburg kept it close in the fourth set and pulled to 18-16 on a kill by senior Lauren Godshalk (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan). Johns Hopkins rattled off five of the next six points to widen the margin to six. Bliss polished off the win with her team-best 14th kill.
 
Higgins led the Bullets with 14 kills, while Godshalk tied her personal high with 13. Senior Stephanie Blair (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) tallied 35 assist and 14 digs. Senior Katherine Gilbert (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) paced the defense with 17 digs, while senior Maddie Weikert (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) and sophomore Melissa Tringali (Cold Spring, N.Y./Haldane) contributed 15 and 10 digs, respectively.
 
Elizabeth Wuerstle and Louisa Kishton joined Bliss in double-figures with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, for Johns Hopkins. Kishton added 16 digs. Kristi Rhead and Natalie Aston combined for 43 assists, 10 kills, four aces, 17 digs, and five blocks for the Blue Jays.
 
With McDaniel College and Haverford College winning Wednesday night, Gettysburg is eliminated from postseason contention. If all three teams end the regular season at 5-5 in conference play, the Green Terror would hold the tiebreaker by virtue of a victory over a higher-ranked team in the standings (Swarthmore College).
 
The Bullets close the season at home against Dickinson College Saturday at 1 p.m.