Washington, DC - The Falcons of Messiah College finsihed 3-1at the Worthington Classic this weekend held at Gallaudet University. Messiah was defeated by the Bulldogs of DeSales University 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-22) in their first match on Friday, swept the Cardinals of Catholic University 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20) Friday evening, swept the Tigers of Rochestester Institute of Technology 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-8) Saturday afternoon, and swept the Bison of Galluadet Univeristy 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-21) Saturday afternoon. Kristen Douglas was awarded to the all-tournament team for her excellent perforance throughout the tournament. Messiah improved to 19-2 with their 3-1 performance this weekend.

Match One: DeSales University 0-3 (27-25, 25-23, 25-22)
Messiah dropped a tough first set to DeSales by a 27-25 score. The Falcons edged the Bulldogs in kills (18-12), attack percentage (21.3-19.0), but committed double the amount of errors (8-4) than the Bulldogs.
 
Messiah led DeSales throughout the entire set until the Bulldogs strung together three unanswered points, the largest scoring streak from either team and notched the score at 22.
 
Both teams exchanged scores and were deadlocked at 25 points apiece. With the score tied, DeSales tallied a service ace and a Falcon attack error to capture the first set victory.
 
The second set was another competitive frame of play with the Bulldogs edging the Falcons 25-23. DeSales edged Messiah in kills (15-12), attack percentage (27.8-21.2), and committed fewer errors (5-4) than the Falcons.
 
Neither team held more than a three point advantage throughout the second set. Messiah and DeSales battled to a 23-23 score late in the second set. Once again, DeSales found a way to score the final two points of the set and took a 2-0 advantage over the Falcons heading into the third set.
 
Messiah gave up a six point lead late in the set and dropped the third and final set 25-22 to DeSales. The Bulldogs edged the Falcons in kills (17-9), attack percentage (20.5-9.8), but committed more errors than Messiah (8-5).
 
The Falcons held a comfortable 20-14 lead when the Bulldogs rallied for nine unanswered points and took a 23-20 lead. The Falcons responded with a point off a service error but DeSales laid down two kills and won the match.
 
Kristen Douglas led the Falcons offensively with 13 kills and Brooke Gallagher dished out 32 assists. Emily Zellers gathered 11 digs on the defensive end and Taylor Hook finished with three blocks.

Match Two: Catholic University 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20)
Messiah defeated Catholic in the first set of play by a 25-18 score. The Falcons edged the Cardinals in kills (16-10), attack percentage (25.6-15.8), but committed one more error than Catholic (5-4).
 
The Falcons set the tempo throughout the set and held a lead over the Cardinals throughout the first frame of play. Leading 13-10, Messiah pulled away from Catholic with four unanswered points and took a 17-10 lead. Two kills from Kristen Douglas, a kill by Alyssa Vorbeck, and a service ace from Emily Zellers formed the four point scoring streak.
 
The Falcons held their comfortable lead and Jane Underman tallied the final point of the set with a potent kill for the victory.
 
Messiah earned a tough 25-21 second set victory over Catholic to pull ahead two sets to none in the match. The Falcons edged the Cardinals in kills (18-14), attack percentage (30.4-19.6), and committed fewer errors (4-5).
 
The Falcons strung together three point scoring streaks four times throughout the set to steadily increase their lead and grab the second set victory. Messiah had a narrow 23-21 lead when kills by Hannah Baumer and Alyssa Vorbeck sealed the second set victory for Messiah.
 
Messiah grinded out the third set victory with a 25-20 final score. The Falcons topped the Cardinals in kills (17-9), attack percentage (32.5-7.7), and committed fewer errors (4-6).
 
Both teams battled and exchanged points repeatedly throughout the set. Messiah led 21-20 and rallied for a four point score streak to crush any remaining hope for a comeback. A kill by Kristen Douglas, a kill from Hannah Baumer, an attack error by the Cardinals, and a service ace from Emily Zellers formed the four point scoring streak that ended the set and match.
 
Jane Underman who tallied 17 kills and Brooke Gallagher who dished out 40 assists led Messiah offensively. The Falcons received strong defensive performances by Emily Zellers (16 digs) and Alyssa Vorbeck (three blocks).

Match Three: Rochester Institute of Technology 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-8)
The Falcons cruised past the Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology with three dominant set victories.
 
 Messiah had a strong offensive performance from Jane Underman (15 kills) and Brooke Gallagher (26 assists). Kristen Douglas had a solid defensive performance with 7 digs. Alyssa Vorbeck solidified the Falcons defensed by adding four blocks.

More on this story to follow...

Match Four: Gallaudet University 3-0 (25-14, 26-24, 25-21)
Messiah took a tough sweep over the Bison of Gallaudet University. The Falcons took the first set with ease but scrapped for every point in sets two and three.
 
During the first set the Falcons dominated the Bison in kills (18-8), attack percentage (44.4-20.0), and committed the same amount of errors (2-2) as the Bison.
 
Messiah used a pair of three point and four point scoring streaks to pull away from the Bison in the first set of play. Leading 23-13, Messiah used a kill by Taylor Hook and another kill from Brooke Gallagher to capture the first set victory.
 
The second set of the match was much different then the first and witnessed the Falcons take a narrow 26-24 victory. Messiah topped Gallaudet in attack percentage (25.0-9.1) and committed fewer errors (4-10). However, the Bison tallied one more kill than the Falcons (14-13).
 
Gallaudet was a point away from taking the set from Messiah and led 24-22. Trailing by two, the Falcons rallied and stole the set from the Bison with a four point scoring streak for the 26-24 victory.
 
The four unanswered points were created by two kills from Kristen Douglas, and kill by Jane Underman, and a service ace from Jane Underman.
 
The third and final set was another competitive frame of play that had the Falcons out victorious by a 25-21 score. Messiah edged Gallaudet in kills (15-14), but committed one more error (5-4).
 
The Falcons led 13-11 when they completed a six point scoring streak to increase their lead to 19-11. Two kills from Kristen Douglas, a kill by Alyssa Vorbeck, and three attack errors committed by the Bison formed the Falcons scoring streak.
 
Gallaudet fought back into the set and decreased Messiah's lead to 23-21. The Falcons crushed any chance of a comeback by tallying the final two points of the set with a kill by Jane Underman and a service ace from Taylor Hook.
 
Kristen Douglas led the Falcons offensively with 15 kills and Brooke Gallagher dished out 35 assists. Douglas had a stellar defensive performance as well by collecting 14 digs. Alyssa Vorbeck played a large defensive role as well with four blocks.