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Grantham, PA — A boisterous crowd was greeted with some stellar volleyball Saturday, as the Messiah volleyball team closed out its regular season with wins over both York College and Montclair State University in the Messiah College Tri-Match.
Also the last home matches of the year for Messiah (19-6), the Falcons honored seniors Leslie Heffner, Meghan Morrissey, Amy Mattie and Trisha Trosper at the day's outset.
Following a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21) win over York and a 3-2 (21-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-18, 15-10) marathon victory over Montclair State, it was a made-for-TV, home conclusion for the club.
“I thought we played really well today and I feel like we're peaking at the right time,” said Judi Tobias, Messiah head coach. “We talked about it being our last home game, and for us to finish our home season like this, especially for our four seniors, is really special. They have been four starters and four key individuals for us, and they will leave big shoes to fill. It was an absolutely great crowd, and we talked about how cool that was afterward. It was just a really fun day for us, and a good sendoff as we look toward the (conference) playoffs.”
With a key match-up at MAC Commonwealth top-seed Lebanon Valley College looming just days away, Tobias' club seemed eager to use Saturday as a respectable warm-up for the MAC Commonwealth Playoffs. With York and Montclair State boasting 35 wins between the two programs, Messiah used steady play from its upperclassmen to come away from both tilts on the winning side.
After trailing throughout the majority of its first-set loss to York (19-14) in the event's opener, Messiah made strong comebacks in the following three stanzas to capture a 3-1 win. A 10-3 run turned an 8-13 deficit into an 18-16 lead in the second set, while kills from Heffner and junior Sam Bradley helped turn a 22-21 third-set lead into a 25-21 final.
When Messiah found itself down by a 10-15 score in the fourth set against the Spartans, it simply leaned on another rallying effort. A 10-2 push materialized for a 20-17 lead, and even a late timeout from York could not stop the momentum. A kill from Bradley and another two from Trosper kept the Falcons ahead 23-19, while a big swing from Heffner and a block assist from Mattie and freshman Caroline Bruton ended things in the 25-21 final.
Trosper led the offense with a season-high 15 kills on a .250 attack percentage, while Heffner charted 13 attacks for points. Bradley registered two solo blocks and five block assists at the net, while Mattie chipped in on four denials.
Morrissey finished with 15 digs in the back row while Mattie added 12. Junior Lauren Bourdon dished out 37 of the team's 39 total assists.
Following a 3-1 York win over Montclair State in the day's middle match, Messiah saved its most dominant volleyball for the event's finale. Following a first-set loss that produced just a .075 attack percentage, the Falcons responded with an emphatic 25-15 win in the second, taking an 18-10 lead and never looking back. Montclair State (16-14) was able to again stay ahead in the third stanza to eventually capture a 24-20 lead before winning, but Tobias' club was not done pushing: Another 18-10 lead in the fourth set led to a 24-18 advantage, while a kill from Heffner closed out the fourth-set victory.
With the day coming down to last possible stanza, it was Messiah that again put up the dominator. A pair of Heffner kills helped the Falcons to the first four points of the fifth, while a pair of serves from Bradley resulted in attack errors for the Red Hawks — and a 10-4 lead for Messiah.
Mattie and Heffner closed their final match in Brubaker Auditorium with kills to finish things off, all while a raucous crowd rose to its feet in anticipation. That spirit was led the Messiah's wrestling team, who showed up with painted chests and bizarre apparel.
“They (the wrestling team) were great today,” Tobias said. “We've already talked about how we're going to support them during their season. Something about teams cheering for teams that wear spandex, or something like that.”
Trosper again paced Messiah's offensive clip against Montclair State, again tallying 15 kills. Heffner added 16 kills on a .204 hitting clip to go with 15 digs, while Morrissey (21), Mattie (14) and Bourdon (10) all registered double-digit totals in the dig department as well. Bourdon tallied 44 assists in the win, while Bradley (one solo, three block assists) and Bourdon (two block assists) came up big in front-row defense.
“I thought that Trisha Trosper had the best match of her season, and maybe her career against York,” Tobias said. “And she was really good against Montclair State, too. Caroline Bruton came through when we needed her and played very well. I see a huge difference in all of our freshman from August to now. They're all playing much more confidently. Really, our entire team is.”
Messiah will next take its act to the road, looking for an upset in the MAC Commonwealth Semi-Finals over top-seeded and regular-season champion Lebanon Valley. Boasting a 31-2 record overall, LVC handed Messiah a 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-20) defeat in Annville back on Oct. 22.
That scenario has been played out once before, as last year Messiah dropped an 0-3 decision to LVC before pushing the Dutchmen to five sets in the conference semis. Tobias said she's confident in her team's chances again this year, especially following Saturday's performance.
“I'm just really encouraged to go into the playoffs playing what I think is our best volleyball of the season,” Tobias said. “We're focused but we're loose, and we're really having fun. I feel like we're going into LVC with more confidence than we had last year. Everyone seems to be on the same page, and this is what you want. We'll give it our best shot and see what happens.”
The fourth seed in the conference tournament, Messiah will travel to Lebanon Valley Wednesday. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
