Box Score
Langhorne, PA — The Messiah volleyball team could not put a caboose on what was otherwise an impressive week Saturday, as the team dropped a disappointing 1-3 (25-23, 19-25, 19-25, 19-25) decision at Philadelphia Biblical University.
Facing a quick and aggressive Crimson Eagles defense, Messiah (9-5) failed to complement a tremendous a 3-2 win over league rival Lycoming College Wednesday, dropping just its second 1-3 loss of the season.
Making matters worse was the unavailability of starting outside hitter Amy Mattie late in the day's event, as the senior complained of a quad strain. Falcons head coach Judi Tobias pulled Mattie in the third set, not wanting to risk serious injury to the team's leading hitter.
“Amy seemed really flat-footed today, and that's when she told me that her quad muscle was tight and kind of sore,” Tobias said. “We've got to have her for (the rest of) our conference schedule, so we sat her.”
With Mattie a shadow of her typical self — four kills in 19 attempts — Messiah struggled to get much going as the day wore on. A first-set 25-23 win was captured via a comeback, as the Falcons trailed by a 17-12 score before rebounding. Following a service error from Philadelphia Biblical (15-7), Mattie came up with a pair of kills to pull Messiah within a 17-15 difference. PBU stayed ahead until a 22-19 lead dissipated behind kills from junior Samantha Bradley and freshman Cassy Diamond, which was followed by a ball handling error from the Crimson Eagles.
A pair of errors closed the match in Messiah's favor, as the Falcons generated a match-high 11 kills in the win.
Sadly, things would go downhill from that point.
With Mattie beginning to tighten up, PBU's defense erupted. The Crimson Eagles finished with 70 total digs, thwarting 26 Messiah swings in the second set and 40 in the third.
“PBU was relentless on defense,” Tobias said. “They just didn't quit. They played the ball to the floor every time, and we did not. That was the difference in the match.”
Tobias' club got behind by considerable margins in both the second and fourth sets — 18-9 in the former and 18-12 in the latter — but stayed close in the third. A kill from junior Lauren Bourdon deadlocked that stanza at 18-18, and it appeared that the Falcons would reclaim the event's overall momentum.
A Crimson Eagle kill on the next exchange began a 3-0 run for PBU, however, and the hosts would not give that advantage up. Messiah would be outscored by a 7-1 difference to finish out the set, the team's lone point coming off a service error from PBU.
Diamond led Messiah's offense up front, pushing across eight kills on a .217 attack percentage. Senior Leslie Heffner provided six attacks for points, while Mattie and Bradley each finished with four. Bourdon and sophomore Jessica Gould shared the setting responsibilities, finishing with 13 and 10 assists, respectively. Senior Meghan Morrissey's 19 digs led 56 scoops overall for the team.
Messiah hit at just a .074 clip on the day, the team's second-lowest output of the season.
“We didn't hit well, but that had a lot to do with the fact we didn't put the ball away,” Tobias said. “On our side, we were hesitating. That was just the type of day it was. PBU deserved to win because they were better than us today.”
Tobias must now regroup her club to return to MAC Commonwealth play in a quick turnaround, as Messiah will host Arcadia University to Brubaker Auditorium Tuesday night.
“We've got to let go of today,” Tobias said. “The mindset has to be focusing on the next match. Conference (play) is most important. That's the reality. We're going to work on becoming more relentless on 'D' in practice. We use those words, but we're not doing it. We've got to get better in that aspect, and fast.”
Tuesday's match time against the Knights is set for 7 p.m.
