WASHINGTON – The Catholic University of America volleyball team opened the season with a 3-0 victory over Gettysburg at the DuFour Center on Wednesday night. Sophomore Maria Cristina Juelle led the way for the Cardinals, nearing a double-double with 11 kills and nine digs. 

"Gettysburg is a very good team with a solid defense and good hitters. This win sets the bar high for the team to push through the season," said head coach Nagy Abdelrazek. 

Although CUA came away with the sweep, the Bullets did not go quietly. After picking up a 25-19 victory in the first set, Gettysburg used a run and battled back to a 24-all tie. Catholic fought through however to take the next two points and a 2-0 lead. 

The third set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team being able to build more than a three-point advantage until a kill by Mary Paige Nesfeder put CUA up 10-7. The lead would not last as the Bullets pushed to avoid the sweep and used an 8-4 run to take a 15-14 lead.

From there it was all Cardinals. Sophomore Brynn Cooley tallied the next point on a kill set up by classmate and setter Michelle Seals. CUA went on to end the match on a 10-6 run and help the Catholic athletics program to perfect 3-0 record at home in the early going of the 2015 season.

"We try not to let the other team make more than a one point run on us," stated Abdelrazek. "We let Gettysburg go on a four-point run in the second set, that is something we need to watch out for. With time outs we were able to slow down the game and make smart plays. I'm hoping we learn from that in the future."

Cooley and Nesfeder each finished just shy of double-digit kills with nine and both added at least five digs. Sophomore libero Michelle Bouchard posted a game-high 16 digs, while Seals also led the match with 29 assists.

For Gettysburg, Laura Bergin registered a match-high 14 kills. The Bullets also totaled 10 blocks in the match.

The Cardinals hit the road this weekend, heading to the Eastern Mennonite Invitational on Friday and Saturday.