Washington, DC - The Falcons finished with a 3-1 record at the Worthington Classic. The Falcons defeated Marymount University 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 28-26, 25-23), Rowan University 3-0(25-17, 25-16, 25-15), and Gallaudet University 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 26-24, 17-15). Messiah's lone lost came to No. 1 Hope College 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-18).
Friday, Match One: Marymount University (17-25, 25-15, 28-26, 25-23)The Falcons started out strong in the Worthington Classic as they defeated Marymount University 3-1 (17-25, 25-15, 28-26, 25-23). After Messiah lost the first set, the Falcons battled back and won the next three sets to earn the match victory.
More on this story to come...Friday, Match Two: Rowan University (25-17, 25-16, 25-15)The Falcons defeated Rowan University in their second match of the evening at the Worthington Classic 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-15).
Kristen Douglas and
Jane Underman led the Falcons offensively tallying eleven and ten kills, respectively.
Brooke Gallagher had an impressive 37 assists while
Emily Zellers added 14 digs on the defensive side.
More on this story to come...Saturday, Match Three: Hope College 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-18)The Falcons had a tough test in their third match of the weekend as they played No. 1 Hope College from Holland, Michigan. Messiah battled, but got swept 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-18) by the top team in the country.
Jane Underman and
Kristen Douglas each finished with a team high six kills while
Brooke Gallagher finished with 18 assists.
More on this story to come...Saturday, Match Four: Gallaudet University 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 26-24, 17-15)The Falcons won their final match of the Worthington Classic over the Bisons of Galluadet University 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 26-24, 17-15). Messiah was down 2-1 when they won back to back sets to earn the match victory.
Jane Underman and
Brooke Gallagher had career days offensively as Underman finished with 23 kills and Gallagher with 54 assists.
Messiah came out strong in the first set and accumilated a .357 attacking percentage compared to Gallaudet's .205 attacking percentage. The Falcons played smart by committing only two errors which helped them earn the first set victory.
The Falcons would lose the next two sets but in very different ways. The Falcons and Bison went back and forth in their second set battle. Each team grabbed the lead throughout the match but the Bison found ways to put together back to back points towards the end of the set to get the victory. Gallaudet jumped out to a commanding 13-5 lead and would hold on to the lead to win the third set.
The fourth and fifth sets of the match were worth the price of admission. The Falcons and Bison would trade scores til the end of the match where the score was tied at 24 a piece. An error by Gallaudet gave Messiah a 25-24 lead and
Alyssa Vorbeck recorded the final kill to give the Falcons the fourth set victory, tieing the score at two a piece. Like the fourth set, the fifth and final set of the match would go down to the wire as both teams would be tied at 15 points each. The Falcons prevailed in the fifth set the exact same way as they did in the fourth with an error committed by the Bison and another kill by
Alyssa Vorbeck to win the set and match.
The Falcons improved their overall record to 12-5 after they finished 3-1 at the Worthington Classic.
Jane Underman was named to the All-Tournament team for her oustanding performance on the court this weekend. The Falcons will be back in action September 30th when they travel to Reading, Pennsylvania to take on Alvernia University.
