XML Box Score Elizabethtown, PA -
Jessica Geib collected 30 assists through the first two sets and finished with 46 total as Messiah used a number of offensive streaks to defeat Elizabethtown 3-1. The win clinches the No. 3 seed for the Falcons in the Commonwealth Championships that will start next week.
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The Falcons and Blue Jays came into the match tied for third place in the conference, both with a 6-2 record and 16 total wins. Last year, in the regular season, Messiah won by the same 3-1 score in Grantham, Pa.
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The two rivals proved to be evenly matched once more, keeping level with each other throughout the first two sets. Messiah didn't let Elizabethtown have a lead for the remainder of set No. 1 after going up 13-12, although just barely, and went on to win 25-22. Set No. 2 included much of the same, with each team exchanging leads until it would eventually be knotted at 27 each. From there, Elizabethtown's Kelci Scannapieco collected two kills in a row to finish it off 29-27. She finished the match with 14 kills.
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Messiah collected 35 of their 59 kills in the first two sets. Leading the match in kills was
Kristen Douglas with 16, followed by
Jane Underman with 13 and
Alyssa Vorbeck with 11. Vorbeck also finished with a hitting percentage of .429, highest for either team.
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In set No. 3, the Falcons looked to have their backs against the wall, going down 14-10 and then 18-14. After that point though, Messiah went on a 9-2 run, marked by four blocks by the Falcons' front line. Douglas and Underman then finished off the set win with a kill each and the team went up 2-1 in the match.
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The Falcons' blocking was a key factor in the win tonight as they put back a total of 14 Elizabethtown attacks. That number is the highest so far this season and only the second time in double digits.
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Messiah carried the momentum from the third set win into the fourth set and won it by nine points, 25-16. Marking the final set of the night was an impressive 15-4 run after being down 12-10.
Jordyn Scheib capped off the run, set, and match with a solo block; she led the team with seven block assists.
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With the win, the Falcons move to 17-11 this season and 7-2 in the Commonwealth while the Blue Jays fall to 16-14 overall and 6-3 in the conference. The final matches of the regular season will come this Saturday, Nov. 2, with a tri-match against Lancaster Bible College and Wilkes University in Brubaker Auditorium.
