XML Box Score Annville, PA - Messiah College overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to Lebanon Valley on the road to win 3-2 in the Commonwealth Championships Semifinal.
Jessica Geib collected 42 assists, bringing her season total to 1024, achieving that feat for the second-straight year.
Allison Hill dug 27 balls, putting her career digs total at 1003, becoming only the sixth Falcon to collect over 1000 in a career.
The match was truly back-and-forth, as the Falcons and Dutchmen alternated set victories by the same scores (17-25, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23, 15-10) until the fifth and final set. In that fifth set, the Falcons did not give up the lead after going up 4-3.
Three separate, three-point runs marked set number one for the Dutchmen. The Falcons committed eight attacking errors in set one, their highest amount in all five sets. That seemed to be the difference-maker in the first set, as both teams collected nine kills.
In set number two, the Falcons put together runs of their own, coming back from 11-8 down and going up 14-12. Before the end of the set, the Dutchmen tied the game at 20, 22, and 23. Three out of the Falcons' final four points of the set were caused by kills from
Jane Underman, who had 17 on the night, tying her season-high.
Lebanon Valley took a 23-12 lead in the third set due to a 13-1 run after tying the game at 11. Messiah didn't have the time to recover, despite taking five of the last seven points in the set.
The fourth set would again be marked by long runs of points, this time from both teams. Lebanon Valley went on a 6-1 run to go up 13-8 but Messiah came back with a 10-1 run to take the lead 18-14. The Dutchmen responded with a 6-0 run making the score 22-20 in their favor but the Falcons again came back with a 5-1 run, ending the set 25-23.
Kristen Douglas collected three kills in those final five points for the Falcons, part of her season and career-high 22 total in the match. The last time these two teams met, Douglas acquired her season-low number for kills with one.
Three of the nine kills for the Falcons in set number five were hit by Douglas, but Messiah was helped out more by the .000 hitting percentage of the Dutchmen. Dutchmen attacking errors provided the Falcons' first four points of the set. Messiah took over from there and won the set 15-10.
The win awards Messiah with a chance to play for the Commonwealth Championship at Stevenson University for the second year in a row. That match will be played this Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2:00 p.m.
