Photos By Michael Lipscomb
By Marquis Frias, Assistant Sports Editor
The volleyball team was swept 3-0 by Gettysburg on Wednesday night in non-conference action at O.W. Houts Gymnasium.
It is the 12th loss this season for the River Hawks (3-12); all 12 losses have come by way of sweeps through all three sets for the opposing team.
The first set was dominated by Gettysburg (10-6), who found themselves up by five early on. Susquehanna managed to come back to tie the score at 13 after scoring three points in a row. Gettysburg then answered, scoring six of the next seven points. The Bullets were able to hold on after scoring three points in a row again to take set one 25-19.
The second set was more of the same as the first, with the Bullets getting off to a 13-11 lead after back-and-forth action between the two teams. That’s when Gettysburg scored nine straight points, featuring a stretch where Alycen Radolovic recorded three straight kills. Gettysburg held their lead for the rest of the set and after a kill from Mary Huegel, the Bullets took the set 25-13.
Set three saw the River Hawks trail early again as they tried to crawl their way back into the game the whole set. After two kills from Erin Gonzalez for Gettysburg, the Bullets took a lead of 14-7. Gettysburg would remain in control of this set, scoring three or more points in a row four different times. A block from Ione Pedersen and Huegel gave the Bullets set three, winning 25-14.
For the River Hawks, Stella Robinson led the way with eight kills on the day. Sami Kline contributed six kills of her own, along with Valerie Stoltz’s five kills. Jessica Sack, the reigning defensive player of the week for the Landmark Conference, recorded 16 kills in the game as well.
“Today was a tough one in terms of mental mistakes,” SU coach Johnny Powell said after the game. “We have to get better mentally and find a way to execute… and we didn’t take that opportunity.”
The mental errors were prominent in the loss for the River Hawks, as Susquehanna recorded 17 attack errors and five service errors.
As the season starts to unfold and Landmark Conference play looms for the River Hawks, Powell is looking forward to the upcoming matchups for his team.
“In terms of height in matchups, I think we are favorable,” he said. “We just have to keep grinding in the gym, executing and doing things to get ready for this weekend.”
