Box Score
with Tim Bontiz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA- The Messiah College Falcons (21-7, 8-1) clinched the second seed in the Commonwealth Conference Thursday night with a 3-1 victory over the Elizabethtown College Blue Jays (21-7, 6-3).
The win confirms that Messiah will host the semifinals on Wednesday, Oct. 31. In doing so, the Falcons will welcome a familiar face-- third-seeded Elizabethtown.
Donning special purple "Dig for the Cause" jerseys in support of Relay for Life, the Falcons opened the match with a 25-16 decision over the Blue Jays. However, Elizabethtown would prove resilient and take the second set 25-20 and tie the match at one set apiece.
“We knew that Etown was a good team and we knew that they weren't just going to sit down and let us take the second game,” senior outside hitter Lauren Reese commented. “I think it was a lack of momentum and we lost our energy.”
The Falcons quickly regained both their energy and momentum by going up 6-0 to start the third set, prompting a Blue Jays' timeout. Two thunderous kills by Rees would eventually put Messiah up 14-6 as they went on to a 25-17 win.
The fourth set would provide another dramatic storyline, as the Blue Jays would control the set early (11-6 to start) and at one time was up seven points over Messiah. However, the Falcons would fight back and win the fourth set 25-23 for their eleventh straight win.
“They're a solid team,” head coach
Judi Tobias said about Elizabethtown. “We had to be prepared emotionally, physically and we had to start strong and finish stronger.”
Junior setter Jess Geib had six kills and collected 41 assists in the match, giving her 964 assists for the season. That total is good for a tie of third-best all-time in a single season for the Falcons. Karen Sollenberger (Ackley) is first all-time with 1,385 assists in 2002, with Lauren Bourdon second all-time with 1,231 assists in 2007. Bourdon (2009) and Geib are tied for the third spot.
Senior outside hitter Lauren Reese had a match-leading 24 kills and also added 12 digs in the win. With 393 kills on the season, Rees is just 15 kills away from tying Messiah's all-time single season record of 408 kills by Prisca Chase in 2002.
Elizabethtown's Kelci Scannapieco led the Blue Jays with 10 kills.
Messiah will finish out their regular season this Saturday at home, hosting both Penn State-Harrisburg (7-22) and Goucher College (8-22).
WVB: Falcons Take Down Blue Jays Gallery
