Grantham, PA - The Messiah College women's volleyball team finished undefeated their tri-match with a sweep over the Hornets of Shenandoah University 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-22) and a thrilling 3-2 (19-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10) victory over the Shoremen of Washington College (Md.). The Falcons improved to 8-0 with their two victories this afternoon.

Match One: Shenandoah University 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-22)
The Falcons handled the Hornets in the first set by collecting 13 kills and accumulating a .324 attack percentage. On the other hand, Shenandoah committed eight errors and only conjured up a -.054 attack percentage.
 
The opening set of the match started with Messiah holding a tight four to three lead. The Falcons widened their lead by stringing together four unanswered points. Kills from Kristen Douglas and Brooke Gallagher started the streak and two errors from the Hornets finished it.
 
Shenandoah responded with a kill by Rachel Roberts, but the Falcons answered in a big way and tallied six unanswered points. Three kills from Jane Underman, a kill and service ace from Kristen Douglas, and an attack error from the Hornets created the streak.
 
With the score at 23-11 in favor of the Falcons, two attack errors committed by Shenandoah gave Messiah the first set victory.
 
The second set witnessed Messiah collect another comfortable victory by a 25-17 score. The Falcons compiled 17 kills compared to the Hornets six, and Messiah accumulated a .268 attack percentage compared to Shenandoah's 0.31 attack percentage.
 
Shenandoah held Messiah from stringing together any large scoring streaks, but the Falcons did put together a four point scoring streak and a couple three point streaks. Messiah's four point scoring streak came at key moment early in the set. The Falcons and Hornets were tied at five when a kill by Braedyn Gallagher and three errors from Shenandoah gave Messiah an eight to five lead.
 
Messiah slowly increased their lead and Jane Underman grabbed the final point of the set from a powerful kill.
 
The third and final set was the most competitive of the match. Messiah pulled out the narrow 25-22 victory with 17 kills and a .300 attack percentage. Shenandoah collected their largest number of kills during a set with 15 during the third.
 
The final set had 11 moments where the score was tied between the Falcons and Hornets. With the score notched up at 19, Messiah outscored Shenandoah six to three and earned the set and match victory.  Both Jane Underman and Kristen Douglas tallied five kills and led Messiah to the victory.
 
Kristen Douglas led the Falcons in kills with 15, while Brooke Gallagher collected 38 assists. Taylor Hook tallied the only block for the Falcons and Emily Zellers led Messiah defensively with 13 digs.

Match Two: Washington College (Md.) 3-2 (19-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10)

The Shoremen set the temp early in the match and defeated the Falcons 25-19. Washington collected more kills than Messiah (13-10) and finished with a slightly better attack percentage (.200-.194).
 
Messiah responded after their first set loss by dominating Washington by a 25-14 score. The Falcons finished the set with a stellar attack percentage (.412) and 16 kills. Jane Underman finished with seven kills during the set and Emily Zellers added the winning point off of a service ace.
 
The Falcons rode their momentum from the second set into the third and defeated the Shoremen 25-17. Messiah led 3-2 early on when the Falcons exploded offensively with 11 unanswered points.
 
Hannah Baumer, Kristen Douglas, Ellen Musselman, and Jane Underman all added kills during the streak. In addition, Brooke Gallagher collected two service aces and guided Messiah to a 14-2 lead.
 
The Shoremen battled back, but the lead was too much to overcome. Kristen Douglas tallied the set winning point off a kill.
 
The Falcons held a 2-1 advantage over the Shoremen heading into the fourth set and both teams were ready to compete. Messiah led Washington 4-2 before they went on a six point scoring streak and increased their lead to 10-2. Jane Underman perfected three kills during the streak while Brooke Gallagher added another.
 
Once again, Washington battled back and strung together five unanswered points to narrow the Falcons lead to 11-8. The Shoremen kept playing tough and evened the score at 24. Kristen Douglas laid down a powerful kill and gave Messiah a 25-24 lead.
 
Washington scored the next three points off of kills from Kaitlyn Marino and Jess Daunoras, and an attack error from the Falcons.
 
The fifth and deciding set proved to be exciting and reflected the same type of play that occurred in the fourth set. Both teams exchanged points and Messiah led 6-5. The Falcons cushioned their lead with two kills from Kristen Douglas and led 8-5.
 
Messiah stayed persistent and never let the Shoremen back into the set. Leading 14-10, Messiah's Jane Underman tallied the match winning point off an authoritative kill.
 
Jane Underman accumulated a career high 25 kills during the match. Brooke Gallagher also added a season high statistic during the match by dishing out 53 assists. Kristen Douglas added 19 kills and led Messiah defensively.
 
The Falcons will be back in action Sept. 15, when they play Hood College in Brubaker Auditorium at 7:00 p.m.