Haverford, PA - The Messiah women's volleyball team went 2-0 in their tri-match at Haverford College by defeating the Red Devils of Dickinson College 3-1 (25-12, 25-17, 23-25, 25-16) and the Fords of Haverford College 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 18-16). The Falcons improved to 11-0 on the season with the victories.

Match One: Dickinson College 3-1 (25-12, 25-17, 23-25, 25-16)
Messiah dominated the first set of play and defeated Dickinson 25-12. The Falcons led the Red Devils in kills (10-2), service aces (3-2), and blocks (4-0). Dickinson struggled to take advantage of scoring opportunities by accumulating a -.214 attack percentage.
 
Messiah separated themselves from Dickinson during the middle of the set when they strung together seven unanswered points. Kills from Jane Underman, Hannah Baumer, and a service ace from Brooke Gallagher highlighted the scoring streak.
 
Messiah held their comfortable lead and Taylor Hook tallied the final kill and gave the Falcons the first set victory.
 
Dickinson jumped on Messiah early and took a 7-4 lead over Messiah, but the Falcons came back and won the set 25-17. Trailing 7-4, the Falcons outscored the Red Devils 5-2 and notched the score at 9.
 
Messiah led 12-10 when they scored six unanswered points from kills by Brooke Gallagher and Jane Underman, a service ace from Makayla Mullikin, and three attack errors committed by Dickinson.
 
The Red Devils battled back and made the score 21-17 in the Falcons favor. With Dickinson closing in on the Falcons, Messiah scored the final four points from a kill by Kristen Douglas, a service ace from Suzanne Harris, and an attack error and bad set by the Red Devils.
 
Dickinson won a tough and much needed third set by a 25-23 score and closed in on the Falcons with a 2-1 match score. The score was tied 10 times and had three lead changes throughout the third set.
 
Both squads battled to a 19-19 score late in the third set. Dickinson strung together three unanswered points in a critical moment during the set with an attack error committed by the Falcons and kills from Natalie Todoroff and Emily Smith.
 
Messiah trailed 24-21 when a kill from Jane Underman and a service ace by Suzanne Harris brought the Falcons within one point from the Red Devils. Messiah crushed their comeback hopes by committing an attack error and Dickinson grabbed the set victory.
 
The Falcons took the fourth and final set of the match by a 25-16 score to defeat Dickinson. Messiah tallied more kills (12-9), accumulated a better attack percentage (.300-.062), and committed fewer errors (3-7) than the Red Devils throughout the set.
 
The Falcons held a tight 19-16 lead late in the fourth set when Messiah scored the final six points of the match for the victory. Jane Underman and Ellen Musselman collected kills while Dickinson committed four attack errors.
 
Jane Underman led the Falcons offensively with 16 kills while Brooke Gallagher dished out 32 assists. Gallagher also played a large role defensively as she gathered 11 digs. Suzanne Harris reached a career high statistical mark as she tallied eight service aces for the Falcons.

Match Two: Haverford College 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 18-16)
Messiah experienced their most challenging test of the season by defeating Haverford College 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 18-16). Every set between the Falcons and Fords was decided by no more than five points.
 
 The Falcons dropped a tough and very competitive first set to the Fords of Haverford College by a 27-25 score. The set had six ties and three lead changes with the Fords eventually coming out on top of the Falcons.
 
With the score notched up at 15, Messiah pulled ahead of the Fords and strung together six unanswered points. The scoring streak was highlighted by two service aces from Emily Zellers, a kill by Kristen Douglas, and three attack errors committed by Haverford.
 
The Fords responded to the Falcons scoring streak by outscoring Messiah 9-4 and tied the score at 25. With the score tied, Haverford grabbed the first set victory with a service ace and a kill from Meg O'Day.
 
The second set between the Falcons and Fords was another thrilling contest with the Falcons coming out on top 25-22. The set was much like the first with five ties and two lead changes.
 
The Ford held a comfortable 20-14 lead when the Falcons rallied with seven unanswered points and took a 21-20 lead. The seven point scoring streak was highlighted three kills from Jane Underman, a kill by Kristen Douglas, a kill from Brooke Gallagher, and two attack errors committed from the Fords.
 
Both squads traded scores and made the set notched up at 22. With the score tied, the Falcons captured the second set victory with three straight points from kills by Jane Underman, Ellen Musselman, and Kristen Douglas.
 
Once again, the fourth set was another competitive contest with that witnessed the Falcons prevailing over the Fords 25-21. There was an astounding 11 ties throughout the set but only one lead change.
 
Messiah collected 14 kills compared to Haverford's 12 and the Falcons gathered two service aces compared to the Fords zero. Neither team led by more than three points throughout the third set. Messiah led 23-21 when a kill from Jane Underman and an attack error committed by the Fords gave Messiah the third set victory.
 
The Fords stopped the Falcons momentum after the third set and won the fourth set 25-20. The set had an astonishing 13 ties and nine lead changes. Haverford collected 16 kills compared to Messiah's 14 and the Fords tallied three service aces compared to the Falcons two.
 
Both teams traded leads throughout the set and were tied at 19 late in the set. Haverford distanced themselves from the Falcons with five unanswered points and pulled away from the Falcons by a 24-19 score.
 
Messiah made an attempt at a comeback with a kill by Taylor Hook to bring themselves within four. Haverford quickly responded and ended the set with a kill by Keri Godbe.
 
The competitive match between the Falcons and Fords ended in electrifying fashion with Messiah taking the fifth set 18-16. There were nine ties and three lead during the finale.
 
The Fords led 14-11 and needed one more point to come out victorious over the Falcons. But, Messiah buckled down defensively and capitalized on offensive opportunities by scoring two points to tie the score at 14 with a kill from Kristen Douglas and an attack error from Haverford.
 
Next, each team exchanged two points and the score was notched back up at 16. With the score all tied up, the Falcons were aggressive and Jane Underman finished the match with back to back powerful kills for the 18-16 victory. Messiah improved to 11-0 with the victory.
 
Jane Underman tallied a career high 27 kills during the match and Brooke Gallagher dished out a career high 58 assists. Messiah will be back in action this Wednesday when they travel to Stevenson University and take on the Mustangs in a MAC Commonwealth Final rematch.