Box Score
Annville, PA — Undoubtedly, the emotions generated from Wednesday night's Commonwealth Conference Semi-Final at Lebanon Valley College will long stick with the members of Messiah's 2010 volleyball program.
Head coach Judi Tobias said she hopes that — in time — it will prove to be motivational.
For now, however, it's simply shocking — and genuinely disheartening. After winning the opening two sets in LVC Gymnasium and then taking a 10-4 lead in the fifth and final frame, Messiah somehow dropped a 3-2 (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 12-25, 13-15) decision to the host Flying Dutchmen, concluding the 2010 season in the most did-that-really-just-happen of manners.
“Needless to say, it's disappointing,” Tobias said. “It's very disappointing. I thought we had it. I think we all thought we had it. But you've got to finish good teams off in this sport, and we didn't do that. Give credit to LVC … they didn't give up, and they played extremely well at the end. I honestly can't believe we didn't win, though.”
Tobias was not alone. Messiah (19-11) stormed out of the gates at the inception of Wednesday's match, taking 25-20 wins in each of the first two stanzas to push second-seeded Lebanon Valley (22-9) to the brink of a season's end. The Falcons claimed the first-set win despite committing six service errors before taking advantage of seven service miscues from the hosts in the second, stunning the nearly 200 in attendance.
The Falcons hit at a collective .270 pace in the opening stanza, generating a match-best 12 kills to help offset the early issues behind the service line. In the second, Tobias' club came up with 10 total kills, and the momentum was clearly on the visitors' side.
Little changed in the third frame.
A neck-and-neck affair saw Messiah claim a 21-19 lead following a service ace from junior Megan Wise, and the perceived impossible was completely plausible: After suffering a 0-3 (23-25, 9-25, 15-25) beatdown at Lebanon Valley Oct. 13, the Falcons were just four points away from flipping the script – completely.
“Lebanon Valley called timeout (when we were up 21-19) and we talked about the importance of staying aggressive through the end,” Tobias said. “Looking back, I think the (result of the) third set rattled us a little bit more than I realized at the time. To not get that one really hurt.”
Messiah failed to claim the sweep thanks in large part to inspired play from LVC following the hiatus, as the Dutchmen came out of the huddle with a kill – followed by a pair of Falcons' attack errors.
When the hosts rattled off three straight attacks for points, LVC had a 24-22 lead and a recaptured control. A kill by Lebanon Valley's Michelle Little ended things at 25-22, as Messiah was outscored by a 6-1 margin to close the frame.
It would only get worse from there.
Clearly stunned by the late-set comeback, Messiah's defense stumbled in the fourth, allowing LVC to hit at a match-high .412 clip — and run away to the 25-12 win. Things were close until Lebanon Valley went on a 12-3 spurt midway through the stanza, turning a 7-7 score into a 19-10 spread.
The Dutchmen would close things out behind four additional kills, setting up a winner-take-all, fifth.
“They had the momentum at that point, and I thought we might be in trouble,” Tobias said. “But, to our girls' credit, we just took off. We came out (in the fifth set) and played really well. Our play made us believe.”
After an attack error from sophomore Lindsay King pulled LVC to a 4-3 difference, Messiah ripped off six of the set's next seven points, taking a 10-4 lead and seemingly wrapping up the program's first-ever trip to a Commonwealth Conference Championship match. Sophomore Lauren Rees ignited the charge with three kills during that stretch, and again Lebanon Valley called timeout, hoping to again save its season.
Incredibly, it worked.
The Dutchmen recorded three straight kills to pull within a 10-7 difference, and the home crowd began to grow louder. Tobias called her first timeout of the stanza.
“I could feel the momentum shifting,” she said. “We needed to get together to remind ourselves of how to finish. We didn't want to be passive. We wanted to be aggressive, but we wanted controlled aggression.”
Sadly, it was LVC that continued to take matters by the scruff of the neck.
A Messiah attack error a Dutchmen kill made it just a 10-9 Messiah lead, and suddenly it was anyone's ballgame. Junior Emily Hall recorded her 10th kill of the night on the ensuing rally, but LVC replied with two attacks for points — tying the game 11-11.
From there, the teams traded points, setting up a remarkable finish: An LVC service error put Messiah back ahead 12-11, but a kill from the Dutchmen's Little knotted things up at 12-12. Sophomore Ann Reck slammed a ball to the hardwood on the next exchange, but Lebanon Valley's Joelle Snyder responded with a kill on the subsequent play, tying things at 13-13.
With the entire match on the line, it was the host Dutchmen that terminated the biggest plays of the year.
Snyder recorded a kill following a lengthy rally to make it a 14-13 LVC lead, and Tobias used her final timeout. It couldn't stop Snyder, however, as the senior concluded the match with her 18th kill of the night, shocking the Messiah team and coaching staff alike.
“There were plenty of tears afterward,” Tobias said. “To be up 10-4 in the final set and not win … that is difficult to accept.”
Rees finished with a team-leading 18 kills for Messiah, while Hall and King each tallied 10. Wise scooped 20 digs in the cause, while Rees and freshman setter Jessica Geib each recorded 16.
“Give LVC a lot of credit,” Tobias said. “They did what they needed to do and we almost did what we needed to do. It will take some time, but this needs to motivate us. If it doesn't motivate us, it was a waste.”
As disheartening as Wednesday's result was, it was light years ahead of where the Falcons concluded last year, dropping a non-competitive, 0-3 defeat at second-seeded Elizabethtown College in the same round. Last season, Messiah took E'Town to five sets in the regular-season before laying an egg in the league tournament. This year, it was the exact opposite scenario, with the team playing perhaps its best volleyball on its last night of competition.
“Last year we were a very young team, it was our first time (in a collegiate post-season) and we were very intimidated,” Tobias said. “This year, there was no intimidation. We came out strong, and I think we took LVC by surprise. But we talked about the fact that, if we had to lose, I'd much rather lose like this than in the way we did last year. When you invest so much, it hurts. But over time, this better be a stepping stone for our program. We are continuing to get closer to our overall goals. That can't be understated.”
Messiah will return nearly everyone off its 2010 roster next fall, losing one senior – Jessica Gould – who finished her career with eight digs and one service ace Wednesday, appearing in all five sets.
“Jess was a really good leader this year and she meshed well with a team that, overall, is still young,” Tobias said. “We hope that, with experiences like these and the addition of a few more pieces, we can be even more competitive next year.”
Post-season awards will be announced in the coming days and weeks. Check back to this site for the latest in Messiah volleyball off-season news and information.
