Grantham, PA – Messiah women's volleyball enters the Commonwealth Tournament his week as the No. 3 seed and will travel to No. 2 Lebanon Valley for the Semifinal match on Wednesday night. The start is schedule for 7:00 p.m.
See below for a brief snapshot of each team.
Scouting the No. 3 Falcons (25-7, 6-2) Messiah comes into the match against Lebanon Valley as winners of three-straight and 13 of their last 14 games. Their two conference losses came against the Dutchmen (3-0) and Stevenson University (3-1).
This season the Falcons are averaging 12.6 kills per set on a .200 kill percentage. Assists per set come in just below the number with 11.8. Messiah is also averaging 18.3 digs per set and 1.2 blocks per set.
Leading the attack effort for the Falcons is the sophomore duo of
Jane Underman and
Kristen Douglas. Currently, Underman has a total of 363 kills while Douglas has 289.
Alyssa Vorbeck has also contributed significantly to the Falcons' attacking with 157 kills and a team-leading .269 hitting percentage.
Helping those hitters get those numbers is sophomore setter
Brooke Gallagher, who leads the team with 1,019 assists (9.70 a/set).
Leading on the defensive side is sophomore libero,
Emily Zellers, with 425 digs followed by Douglas with 319.
Scouting the Field Scouting No. 1 Stevenson (27-5, 8-0) The Mustangs of Stevenson University enter the Commonwealth Tournament riding a three-game win streak and hold a record of 25-7.
Stevenson averages 12.18 kills per set and 18.18 digs per set. Leading the Mustangs offensively is Annika Schwartz who has 273 kills. Setter Sara Bollinger leads the team with 989 assists as well.
The Mustangs are led defensively by Samantha Perillo who leads the team with 660 digs. Stevenson will take on either Lycoming or Widener in the Commonwealth Semifinals.
When They Met: The Falcons lost to the Mustangs of Stevenson University Sept. 24, at Messiah 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 18-25).
Jane Underman led the Falcons offensively with 11 kills and
Brooke Gallagher added 33 assists.
Kristen Douglas played strong defensively adding 17 digs.
The Mustangs were led offensively by Annika Schwartz who added 15 kills and Sara Bollinger who finished with 38 assists.
Scouting No. 2 Lebanon Valley (26-6, 7-1) The Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley hold a 26-6 overall record and 7-1 conference record entering the Commonwealth Tournament.
The Dutchmen average 12.1 kills per set and 15.7 digs per set. They are led offensively by Greta Weidemoyer who has 381 kills. Defensively, the Dutchmen are led by Allie Garrett who has 527 digs.
When They Met: Messiah lost to the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley Oct. 22, at Lebanon Valley 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21). Although the Falcons were swept, the match was played very close with all three sets coming down to the end.
Kristen Douglas led the Falcons offensively with 14 kills and
Brooke Gallagher added 34 assists.
Emily Zellers led the Falcons defensively with 15 digs.
Kayla Confer led the Dutchmen offensively with 12 kills and Emily Sides led them defensively with 13 digs.
Scouting No. 4 Lycoming (18-16, 5-3) The Warriors of Lycoming College enter the semifinals after defeating No. 5 Widener 3-1 in the quarterfinals Monday night. The Warriors hold a 18-16 overall record and 5-3 conference record entering the Commonwealth tournament.
The Warriors average 11.7 kills per set while averaging 16.1 digs per set. Bethany Richardson leads the Warriors offensively with 311 kills while Lauren Fink leads Lycoming defensively with 353 digs.
Lycoming will take on No. 1 seed Stevenson University in the Commonwealth semifinals.
When They Met: The Falcons swept the Warriors of Lycoming Oct. 8, at Messiah College 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-22).
Jane Underman led the Falcons offensively with 14 kills while
Brooke Gallagher added 38 assists.
Kristen Douglas led the Falcons defensively with 11 digs.
Kristine Jahn led the Warriors offensively with 12 kills and Maggie Slawson led Lycoming defensively with 11 digs.
