Box Score
Grantham, PA — Despite a roaring Brubaker Auditorium crowd in its first home match of the season, Messiah lost a heartbreaking five-game match 2-3 (25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 17-25, 13-15) to visiting Philadelphia Biblical University, the team's fourth straight defeat in six outings.
Messiah (1-5 grabbed an early advantage — leading by 1-0 and 2-1 set scores —but dropped the final two sets in disappointing fashion. It was a bitter end to a hard-fought battle by the Falcons, the team's first five-set marathon of the young season.
The overall outcome was nearly reversed, as the Falcons led by a 12-10 score in the fifth and deciding set. A 5-1 scoring run by Philadelphia Biblical (3-3) closed out the final stanza, however, sending the nearly 100 fans in attendance home yearning for more.
“I was disappointed in our performance,” said Judi Tobias, Messiah head coach. "I felt like we had the potential to be better but we just couldn't put it together. It felt fragmented, like we just couldn't connect. Our inconsistency was frustrating.”
In both of its victories, the Falcons controlled the tempo of the game, jumping out to early leads. The Falcons led 10-3 in the first set before squandering away its early lead, eventually trailing by a 19-22 count.
Tobias's troops rallied behind a violent kill by freshman Lindsay King, and thanks to the steady serving of sophomore Lauren Lathrop, the never-say-die Falcons rallied for four quick points to take a 24-22 lead. A Casey Diamond (sophomore) kill closed out the first set in Messiah's favor, generating high hopes for the remainder of the match.
“That game gave us a lot of confidence,” Tobias said. “It showed that we can turn our game around when it matters most.”
PBU would not go quietly, however, as the Crimson Eagles rallied late in the second set, turning a 12-12 tie into a 21-13 lead. Philadelphia Biblical coasted to a 25-17 victory, thanks to a combination of service errors and bad sets by the Falcons.
Behind the effective serving of senior Lauren Bourdon, Messiah jumped out to early leads of 8-0 and 11-1, easily winning the third set 25-17. In both of its victories, the Falcons controlled the set from the beginning, hitting at match-best .185 and .179 attacking clips, respectively.
“Getting an early lead is extremely important in winning a game,” Tobias said. “You certainly can rebound if you're trailing, but no team wants to play catch up from more than three of four points.”
That was precisely the case in the fourth set, as the Falcons trailed 17-9 in the before briefly mounting a comeback behind the strong serving of sophomore Brynn Lettieri. It was to no avail, however, as the Crimson Eagles pulled away with a solid 25-17 victory, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
The dramatic fifth stanza featured six lead changes, culminating in a 15-13 victory for the visiting Crimson Eagles.
Tobias was disappointed with the final result.
“We started playing to not lose instead of to win,” she said. We didn't play with a lot of confidence. We've been working on using more communication and being more verbal. Today was more of a reminder of what we need to work on."
Diamond led the Messiah offense with 12 kills on the night, hitting at a .273 pace. King finished with seven kills on a .182 clip, while Lettieri and sophomore Emily Hall each tallied five.
Sophomore Megan Wise carded a team-best 18 digs from her libero position, while Bourdon ran the offense effectively, finishing with 30 assists.
Messiah will next participate in a home quad-match Saturday, as Marymount University, Penn State University Harrisburg and Methodist University will all partake. The Falcons will face off against Marymount to begin the day at 10 a.m.
