Grantham, PA - The Messiah College women's volleyball team cruised past the Chargers of Lancaster Bible College by a 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-17) sweep during their season opener.

The most competitive set of the night was the first, which had five lead changes between the Falcons and Chargers. Messiah took charge during the beginning of the first set and jumped out to an early 7-1 lead. The Falcons early lead was highlighted by two kills from Jane Underman, and one kill from both Taylor Hook and Kristen Douglas.
 
The Chargers responded during the midway mark in the first set with a five-point scoring streak and tied the score at 12. After trading leads, Messiah powered their way to a 25-17 first set victory from five unanswered points to end the set. Kills from Kristen Douglas and Jane Underman highlighted the streak.
 
Unlike the first set, the Falcons dominated the Chargers during the second with a 25-11 victory. Lancaster Bible started the set well and grabbed their only lead by a 5-3 score. Messiah controlled the rest of the set by stringing together a seven-point streak and two five-point streaks.
 
The third set opened with a kill from each team and knotted the score at 1. This was the only time in the third set where the Falcons didn't have the lead. The Chargers hung around throughout the set, but never put together a scoring streak more than two. Newcomer Braedyn Gallagher tallied the first and last points of the set off of kills and assisted Messiah to their first victory of the season.
 
Statistically, the Falcons dictated the match and led in kills (38-17), service aces (7-1), blocks (5-3), assists (35-17), digs (38-35), and committed less errors (14-22). Offensively, Messiah was led by Kristen Douglas (13 kills) and Brooke Gallagher (22 assists). Taylor Hook collected three blocks while Jane Underman and Emily Zellers gathered 10 digs defensively for Messiah.
 
The Falcons improved to 1-0 on the season with the victory and will be back in action this Friday and Saturday when they play Penn St. Harrisburg, Gettysburg, McDaniel, and Penn St. Altoona in the Gettysburg Tournament.