Annville, PA - Despite playing close with the host Dutchmen all night, Messiah College was unable to grab a set decision in a 3-0 loss (25-23, 25-22, 25-21).
The defeat dropped Messiah to 5-2 in the Commonwealth while Lebanon Valley moved moved into sole ownership of second place (5-1).
The Falcons dropped the first set 25-23 while only committing two errors compared to four committed by the Dutchmen. Messiah also finished the set with a solid .343 attack percentage but the Dutchmen posted an even better .394 attack percentage.
Both Messiah and Lebanon Valley grabbed the lead four separate times and the score was tied throughout the first set four times as well. Trailing 24-20 late in the first set, the Falcons put together a three point scoring streak with kills from
Alyssa Vorbeck and
Jane Underman. An attack error by the Dutchmen gave the Falcons the third point of the streak tightening the score to 24-23 in favor of Lebanon Valley. The Dutchmen responded from the Falcons late scoring streak with a kill by Kayla Confer to end the first set.
The second set of the match was another well-played contest that came down to the end. Messiah kept the set close as the scored was tied twice, but the Falcons never captured the lead.
Kristen Douglas and
Jane Underman led the Falcons offensively in this set as both players accumulated five kills a piece and accounted for 10 of the Falcons 12 kills in the set. Trailing 24-22, Douglas tallied one of her five kills late in the set to bring Messiah within two points of the lead. A kill by Greta Weidemoyer gave the Dutchmen the final point and set victory.
Messiah trailed 18-12 mid-way through the final set of the evening. The Falcons rallied and outscored the Dutchmen 9-4 with kills by
Hannah Baumer,
Kristen Douglas,
Alyssa Vorbeck,
Jane Underman, and a service ace by
Danielle Weaver to make the score 22-21. Leading by one point, the Dutchmen put together three straight points with a kill by Greta Weidemoyer and two attack errors committed by the Falcons.
Kristen Douglas finished with 14 kills and
Brooke Gallagher finished with 34 assists to lead the Falcons offensively. On the defensive end,
Emily Zellers came up with 15 digs throughout the match.
The Falcons will be back in action this Saturday when they travel to Gettysburg College to take on Muhlenberg College at 3:00 PM and Gettysburg College at 5:00 PM.
