The Muhlenberg volleyball team split a trimatch at Gettysburg, defeating the hosts in four sets before falling to Messiah in five. The opening win ensured the Mules (23-5, 7-2) a spot in the Centennial Conference playoffs for the second straight year; last season, they reached the championship match.

Muhlenberg can secure a first-round bye with a win against Ursinus in its home finale on Wednesday.

In the opener, the Mules took the final two sets to break a 1-1 tie and score their first win ever at Gettysburg. Junior Katherine Boll led all players with 13 kills, while senior Nikki Dickson (20 assists, 11 digs) and sophomore Allison Glass (10 kills, 14 digs) both recorded double-doubles.

After dropping the second set and falling behind 4-2 in the third, Muhlenberg scored the next four points and never trailed again. JuniorChelsea Kaser, who recorded a match-high 19 digs, served the final five points of the third set and had a run of six straight service points to get the Mules out to a big lead in the third.

The match against regionally ranked Messiah was a back-and-forth contest in which Muhlenberg handily won the first set, 25-9, only to have the Falcons (22-6) take the next two. The Mules forced a fifth set with a 25-19 win in the fourth. The tense fifth set featured seven lead changes, with Messiah scoring the last three points to pull it out, 16-14.

Glass had another double-double with 15 kills and 17 digs, and juniorJoanne Josephson (11 kills, 9 blocks) narrowly missed one.

A pair of Mules reached season milestones on the day. Kaser went over 400 digs and become only the third Mule to have two seasons with 400 or more. Boll (pictured right) had 10 blocks in the two matches to give her 101 for the year, making her only the second Muhlenberg player to reach triple digits.