Box Score | Photo Gallery
with Tim Bonitz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA – The Messiah College Falcons (7-4, 2-1) dropped a hard-fought match to Commonwealth Conference newcomer Stevenson University (12-1, 4-0), falling 3-1 in Brubaker Auditorium. The Falcons battled through four sets, with the Mustangs proving to be too much to handle in the victory (25-18, 23-25, 31-29, 25-20).
The first set saw Stevenson win convincingly to establish some early tempo. The Mustangs' pressured the Falcons with an aggressive offense, keeping the Falcons' defenders off-balance as their kills found the floor often.
“We were inconsistent,” Coach
Judi Tobias commented on the first set. “We came out slow, and we typically don't start slow.”
Rebounding from that slow start, Messiah would not go away quietly. The Falcons pushed the second set to 22-23 before a timely Coach Tobias timeout prompted a three-point rally for a Falcons' win, 25-23.
In the third set, Messiah came out strong, taking an early lead by keeping the Mustang offense at bay with strong serving. However, Stevenson fought their way back into the set and went up 13-11 to force a Falcons timeout. The set continued to rally back and forth, extending the set past the conventional 25 points—ending with the Mustangs taking the set 31-29. In the set, Messiah had three game-winning chances.
The Mustangs then jumped to an early 8-3 lead in the fourth set. Messiah worked their way back into the set with tough serving nearly tying the set with a score of 20 -21. Stevenson's solid hitting and defense would prove to be too much for the Falcons as they closed out the set—and match—winning 25-20.
“They've got great hitting and great defense,” Tobias said of the Stevenson team. “They're a great addition to our conference, and they're a solid team.”
The Mustangs' strong offense was led by junior setter Jessica Gieselman, as she collected 48 assists and tallied 6 kills in the winning efforts. Senior Avery Gabbard led the Mustangs with 15 kills, with three of her teammates also collecting double-digit kill totals.
Messiah junior setter
Jessica Geib dished out 35 assists and added five kills in the loss. Senior outside hitter
Lauren Rees led Messiah with 16 kills.
The Falcons will look to rebound this Saturday in an away tri-match with St. Mary's College of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University. The matches will be held on the campus of St. Mary's College.
