Hamilton Box Score | Medaille Box Score | Anna Maria Box Score | St. Lawrence Box Score
Clinton, NY — Messiah continued its winning ways in this weekend's Hamilton College Continental Classic, capturing shutout victories in each of its first three matches before finishing the two-day event with a 3-1 record.
The Falcons handed the host Continentals a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-22) defeat in Friday's opener, then dispatched Medialle College by a 25-19, 25-16, 25-21 score in the nightcap.
On Saturday afternoon, Messiah cruised pas Anna Maria College 3-0 (25-4, 25-19, 25-13) before stumbling to St. Lawrence University, dropping a 1-3 (28-26, 22-25, 16-25, 19-25) decision to the Saints — a team boasting a 24-5 record overall.
“We played pretty well this weekend,” said head coach Judi Tobias, whose team put together a season-best five-match winning streak before falling to SLU. “I was disappointed in our last match (of the classic) but (St. Lawrence) was a good team. I was definitely impressed with our performance in the first three matches.”
Tobais' club was dominant in all three of those tilts, opening with a laugher against host Hamilton (4-24). Freshman Lauren Rees controlled the match with 16 kills and an incredible .394 attack percentage up front, while the Falcons added 10 service aces and, as a team, attacked at a .278 clip for the match.
Messiah continued its dominance with a sweep of Medaille College (16-8) in the late match Friday evening, climbing two games above the .500 mark for the time of the season.
Against the Mavericks, it was sophomore Cassy Diamond who did most of the damage, posting 11 kills on just 24 swings — finishing with a remarkable .458 hitting percentage thanks to no errors. Classmate Emily Hall finished with seven kills on a .214 clip, while freshman Lindsay King hit .357, knocking down six attacks for points.
"We played very well (against Medaille),” Tobias said. “We passed pretty well and controlled our offense. That's extremely critical. We rose to the challenge and our hitters connected well. Cassy was just unstoppable. (Sophomore) Brynn (Lettieri) also had zero errors and she hit .444. When she puts up numbers like that, it helps a lot.”
Saturday against a struggling Anna Maria (6-18), the Falcons' beat continued. After allowing a single-set season-low four points in the opening frame, Messiah went on to cruise to the 3-0 victory with almost no resistance.
Diamond again continued her dominance, leading the team with 11 kills on 16 swings for a phenomenal attack percentage of .500. King pasted nine kills on a .400 clip, while adding a pair of assist blocks as well.
“I cannot say enough about the brilliant play of Cassy Diamond this weekend,” Tobias said. “She was just on.”
Following the first set of the Falcons' final match of the weekend, it appeared Messiah would go 4-0 for the tournament: Tobias club fought to a 28-26 win over SLU, putting the pressure on the Saints.
That win gave the Falcons a victory in their 12th consecutive set, a streak dating all the way back to the final two sets against Widener University on Oct. 20.
The 12-set winning streak included two extra-point victories, a fifth-set victory, and four double-digit victories, including the 21-point pasting of Anna Maria just a few hours prior to the SLU match.
Sadly, St. Lawrence would end both Messiah's winning streak and the team's set streak, as the Saints came away with 25-22, 25-16, 25-19 wins to finalize the 3-1 decision. After hitting .234 in the first-set win, Tobias' club registered attack percentages of just .162, .129 and .032 in the final three stanzas.
Rees (12 kills) and Diamond (11) again paced the Falcons' offense, while King and senior Lauren Bourdon each added a pair of assist blocks. Messiah committed a classic-high 13 service errors in the loss, however, recording five blocking errors as well.
“We're still working on running different offenses and different plays, and being smart about when to use them,” Tobias said. “We're still working on serve receive. We didn't pass well against St. Lawrence. They served really well. You can't run your offense if you can't return the serve.”
With just three regular-season matches remaining, Messiah will next close out Commonwealth Conference play against Lycoming College. The Falcons will host the Warriors to Brubaker Auditorium on Wednesday night, with match time slated for 7 p.m.
"We just need to take it one match at a time," Tobias said. "It'd be great to win the next three but nobody is going to just let us win. Wednesday is our last conference match. We've got to focus on that."
