GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Catholic women's volleyball team opened up the 2022 campaign with a split on day one of the Battlefield Classic. The Cardinals opened up the day with a 3-0 sweep of Penn State-Mont Alto. In game two versus tournament host Gettysburg, Catholic took the second set and nearly rallied for a third set victory before ultimately falling to the Bullets in Bream Gymnasium. 

Game One - Catholic 3, Penn State-Mont Alto 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-17)

*Due to the number of matches played at the Battlefield Classic, the amount of statistical information for this match is limited at this time*

The Cardinals got off on the right foot to start the 2022 season as Heather Stout's program swept Penn State-Mont Alto to start the season off. 

After a back-and-forth start to set two that resulted in a 6-6 score, the Cardinals broke off on a 5-0 run to take an 11-6 lead. After PSU-Mont Alto cut it to 16-13, sophomore Grace Guerin added a kill and a block before a block from freshman Taylor Sichling made it 19-13. Leading 21-15, a pair of kills from junior Olivia Blondin put the Cardinals up 23-16 before freshman Halie Murphy closed out the set with a kill. 

Catholic fell behind 11-8 in the third set before roaring back for a 25-17 set victory to close out the match. During the 17-6 run that closed things out, junior Olivia Blondin tallied three kills while Murphy chipped in another pair of kills. Freshman Erin Faughnan served up two aces while junior Sydney Sheppard added one of her own to clinch the match. 

Game Two - Catholic 1, Gettysburg 3 (18-25, 25-21, 21-25, 14-25)

Freshman Halie Murphy, junior Olivia Blondin, and sophomore Grace Geurin combined for 27 of the team's 36 kills in Friday night's four-set match. Murphy led the team with 13 kills on 40 swings while adding seven digs on the defensive end. Blondin notched eight kills on 32 attacks while adding in three aces for an 11-point night. Guerin finished with the most efficient night for the Cardinals, tallying six kills on 13 attempts, good for a .308 hitting percentage. 

The Bullets got out to a hot start against the Cardinals, taking a 9-2 lead early and extending it to as many as 11 before a Catholic 6-0 rally cut the deficit to 23-18. After a Murphy kill cut the deficit to 23-13, junior Gaby Hernandez-Ferraiuoli took the serve and pitched in an ace while keeping the Bullets on their toes during a 5-0 service run. 

Murphy and Hernandez-Ferraiuoli continued a strong stretch to begin the second set, as Murphy added three kills to another Hernandez-Ferraiuoli ace to give the Cardinals a 5-3 lead. After the Bullets tied the set at 6-6, junior Sydney Sheppard and Murphy both added kills as the Cardinals retook the lead and extended it to 9-6. Two kills from Blondin, a pair of kills from Murphy and Guerin, and a Sheppard ace pushed the Catholic lead to 14-9 after a 5-1 run. Gettysburg once again cut the set lead to just two points at 15-13, but another three-point run for Catholic pushed them back up by five. Moments later, an ace from Murphy and a kill from freshman Erin Faughnan gave the Cardinals their largest set lead to that point at 21-15. The Bullets cut the deficit back to three, but a kill from senior Brittany Connatser secured the set win for Catholic. 

Gettysburg jumped out to leads of 10-5 and 13-7 in set three, but Catholic cut it back to a four-point game after a pair of attack errors from the Bullets. The Cardinals fell back down by six, but a kill from Blondin sparked a 6-2 run to get within two. Hernandez-Ferraiuoli and Sheppard both served up aces while freshman Tanya Sichling picked up a kill to make it a 20-18 set. Another kill from Murphy kept the dream alive at 22-20, but the Bullets finished the set with a pair of kills from Zanze Kuba-McCoy. 

The Cardinals took a 6-5 lead in the fourth set after an ace from freshman Izzy Steinberg and a Connatser kill, but the Bullets responded with five straight to take a 10-6 lead. A Murphy kill made it 10-7, but the Bullets took 12 of the next 14 points to put the contest out of reach. 

On the defensive end, Hernandez-Ferraiuoli led the way with 12 digs while Sheppard added nine. Faughnan had three blocks to lead the Cardinals at the net. 

Catholic will take on Salisbury (11 a.m.) and Messiah (3 p.m.) on day two of the Battlefield Classic tomorrow.