XML Box Score Stevenson, MD – The Messiah College Falcons fell to the No. 22 Stevenson University Mustangs by a 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 22-25) score in the Commonwealth Championship today.
Stevenson's Imani Hudson led all attackers in the match with 15 kills.
Jane Underman led Messiah with eight total kills, followed by
Hannah Baumer and
Jessica Geib with 4 each. Geib assisted on 14 of the Falcons' 22 total kills.
The Mustangs held the Falcons to just a .008 hitting percentage in the match, but Messiah held the advantage in total blocks with 10 compared to 6. Stevenson once again proved why they are No. 22 in the country and have only two losses this season.
Messiah's defense was key to them staying in the match, but that could only take them so far. As a team, they were just shy of Stevenson's number in digs, 69 to 72, led by
Allison Hill and
Natasha Gibble, each with 13.
Liz MacNeil also chipped in on the defense with 12 digs.
Despite the 22-25 score in the third set, the Falcons best chance to take one from the Mustangs was in set No. 2. Messiah found themselves tied up with Stevenson at 17-17 but succumbed to an 8-1 run, which ended the set in the Mustangs favor. The Falcons also held a one-point lead a couple of times during the set.
The Falcons did come back from an 11-point deficit in the third set, but couldn't take back the lead in time. Down 19-8, Messiah strung together a 9-1 run, getting to within three at 20-17. The teams matched each other point-for-point from there and Stevenson closed out the match and the Falcons' conference run.
Senior-setter and Commonwealth Player of the Year, Jessica Gieselman, commanded the Mustangs' offense dishing out 37 assists.
Messiah's season comes to an end, once again at the hands of the Stevenson players, with an overall 20-12 record. Stevenson will continue on into the NCAA Tournament with the automatic bid from winning the conference.
