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York, PA — So what if Messiah entered this weekend's York College Best Western Westgate Invitational with a 0-3 record in five-set matches?
The Falcons' inability to win full-distance tilts is no more.
Messiah finished tied for second at the seven-team invite this weekend behind a trio of five-set victories, hanging 3-2 wins on Rutgers University Camden (25-23, 18-25, 24-26, 25-13, 15-7), Moravian College (26-24, 12-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-9) and Rowan University (24-26, 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 15-6), dropping its only match of the two-day event to host York by a 1-3 (25-27, 26-24, 14-25, 16-25) score.
For a team looking for its first five-set win of the season, getting three in two days was just fine with head coach Judi Tobias.
“We did well,” she said. “I'm impressed. We're progressing in the right direction. We're still inconsistent but we're getting better. We're doing the things we need to do. Two of the matches shouldn't even have gone into the fifth game, and that's the inconsistency we're still showing. I was glad to finish them, though. The girls seemed to go into the fifth game more confident. I was a little nervous about that in the beginning.”
Opening the weekend against Rutgers-Camden (5-5), the Falcons trailed two games to one, but rebounded to dominate the final two sets in the match, 25-13 and 15-7.
Freshma Lauren Rees was a large part of the equation, rattling off a team-best 13 kills in 31 swings (posting an attack percentage of .355) to lead the way. Sophomore Emily Hall finished with eight kills and freshman Ann Reck with seven, while senior Lauren Bourdon ran the offense efficiently with 32 of the team's 33 total assists.
Tobias was especially pleased with her team's resilience and their first fifth-set victory of the season, as the Falcons closed their match against the Scarlet Raptors with a .400 attack percentage in the final stanza.
“After trailing two sets to one, we decided we better play,” she said. “Volleyball is such a mental game. We're still focused on fundamentals, getting great passes, not just keeping the ball in play, but putting it down. In the fourth and fifth set, we achieved that and were able to come away with the victory.”
Fresh off the exhilarating win, Messiah (8-9) was awarded a rematch against Moravian (7-9) in Friday's nightcap, a team which had defeated the Falcons in three consecutive sets a week earlier.
The second time proved to be the charm for Tobias's squad, however, as they rallied from a 25-12 stomping in the second set to capture a 15-9 victory in the fifth and final set.
“It was kind of nice to beat Moravian this weekend after we lost to them the weekend before,” Tobias said. “We didn't feel we played that well (last week), so to come out with a little more fire felt really good.”
Rees again paced Messiah's offense in that win, charting 18 kills on a .310 attack percentage. Sophomore Brynn Lettieri was the story of the night, however, posting 12 kills with no errors in 21 swings — a hitting percentage of .571. She also recorded a solo and assist block, getting in one service ace as well.
“Brynn was remarkable hitting the ball,” Tobias said. “To have 21 swings and no errors is almost unheard of.”
Classmate Megan Wise was dominant in the back row, scooping a team-leading 23 digs from the libero position. Bourdon finished with 46 assists and just one ball handling error — her most productive match of the weekend.
Saturday morning turned out to be the Falcons' only downfall of the entire tournament, as the host Spartans (10-4) slammed a total 54 kills to make Messiah's team hitting clip of .084 moot. Lettieri finished with eight kills to pace the offense, while Reck and sophomore Cassy Diamond each notched six kills. The 1-3 defeat was nearly identical to Messiah's season-opening defeat at Charles Wolf Gymnasium, though the Falcons claimed the first set in that loss.
Despite the most recent defeat to York, Tobias' club rebounded for yet another 3-2 win — this time hanging on after dropping a fourth set to keep Rowan (5-8) winless on the weekend. It appeared that Messiah would cruise to the win after narrowly dropping the first set (24-26) and soundly taking the second and third (25-20, 25-18) but a 19-25 Profs' win in the fourth set up the winner-take-all fifth.
It turned out not to matter, as Messiah responded with a 15-6 drubbing, the team's largest margin of victory in a fifth set this season.
“Saturday afternoon (agasint Rowan) was one of those that we shouldn't have let get to five,” Tobias said. “While it was good to wake up in the fifth set, we should've taken care of business before then.”
Diamond exploded for 15 kills in 40 swings during the win, flanked by both Lettieri (12 kills) and Reck (11 kills). Messiah hit at a .221 attack percentage collectively, bolstered by 30 digs from sophomore Lauren Lathrop and six service aces from Wise.
Bourdon again flourished in the team's single-setter alignment, charting 42 assists to go with six digs and three attacks for points.
Lebanon Valley College finished 4-0 at the weekend invite, claiming top team honors. Messiah finished tied with both York and McDaniel College with its 3-1 mark. The Falcons have now won four of their last five matches, seemingly playing their best volleyball of the season to date.
“Fundamentals,” Tobias said. “It's fundamentals. We're still working on aggressive serving with that balance, not too crazy or risky. Great passing. We've been working on serve receive for 20 to 30 minutes every day in practice. We're getting better, and the results are starting to reflect that.”
Messiah will return to Commonwealth Conference action Wednesday night, when the team faces off against Arcadia University in Brubaker Auditorium. That contest will be part of Messiah's annual 'Dig For The Cause' campaign, an effort to support the American Cancer Society's “Relay For Life.” Fans are encouraged to wear purple and offer pledges to help the program's efforts. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
