Grantham, PA- The Messiah women's volleyball team defeated Lebanon Valley college 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-20) in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal this evening. Kristen Douglas and Jane Underman led the team with 14 kills each. Emily Zellers recorded 15 digs and Jessica Zellers finished with 10 digs. Brooke Gallagher dished out 41 assists and had 14 digs in the win. The Falcons finished with 10 team blocks on the night and with the victory improve to 26-7 on the season.
 
These two teams met just one week ago and the Falcons won in a 3-0 sweep on the road. Such was the case tonight at home in Brubaker Auditorium as Messiah proved to be too much for Lebanon Valley.
 
The first set of play was competitive as points were traded back-and-forth. Messiah finished with double the kills (15-7) then Lebanon Valley en route to a 25-19 win.
 
The Falcons jumped to an early 3-0 lead off kills by Brooke Gallagher, Braedyn Gallagher, and an error by the Dutchmen. Later with Messiah ahead 7-5, Lebanon Valley tallied three-straight points to take the lead8-7 but Messiah responded with a kill by Kristen Douglas to tie it at eight.
 
Trailing 9-8, Messiah scored three unanswered points to take the slight edge 11-9. Jane Underman hammered down two kills and Taylor Hook recorded a service ace in the run. Later finding themselves down 16-14, the Falcons tallied three-straight points off a kill by Kristen Douglas and two errors by the Dutchmen to take the lead 17-16.
 
With the score notched at 18, Messiah went on the most pivotal scoring run of the set tallying six points in a row to pull within one point of set win24-19. In the run Jane Underman recorded three kills, Douglas had one, and Danielle Weaver had a service ace. Lebanon Valley tallied a point but on the next play Jane Underman threw down another kill to give Messiah the victory.
 
The second set proved to be similar to the first with both teams on the attack. Messiah trailed late but came back in thrilling fashion to take the second set 25-23.
 
A kill by Braedyn Gallagher, two service aces from Emily Buckwalter, and an error by Lebanon Valley gave Messiah an early 4-1 advantage. With the Falcons winning 9-7, the Dutchmen recorded three-straight points to take the lead 10-9 but Mary Underman hammered down a kill to tie it at 10.
 
Late in the set Messiah was behind 22-19 but then exploded for five unanswered points off two kills from Braedyn Gallagher, two from Douglas, and one from Mary Underman giving them the 24-22 lead. Lebanon Valley answered with a kill but then Mary Underman pounded down a kill earning Messiah the win and 2-0 set lead.
In the third and final set the Falcons kept their momentum going tallying 15 kills and had a .297 attack percentage.
 
Two kills from Jane Underman and two block assists, one with Jane and Mary Underman, and then one with Breadyn Gallagher and Underman gave the Falcons an early 4-0 advantage. Not long after, holding a 4-2 edge, Jane Underman and Mary Underman each had kills and Lebanon Valley committed an error to extend their lead 7-2.
 
Later with the Falcons winning 13-8 they scored three-straight points off two kills by Jane Underman and an error by the Dutchmen to lead by eight 16-8. Messiah maintained control the rest of the set, even when Lebanon Valley made a late-set run.
 
With Messiah in the lead 22-16, Lebanon Valley scored two points to pull within four 22-18 but a kill by Brooke Gallagher and error by the Dutchmen brought Messiah one point away from set and match victory.
 
The Dutchmen tallied two kills but then Taylor Hook hammered down a final attack to give the Falcons the third set win25-20 and match sweep. As a team Messiah finished with 48 kills, seven team blocks, and a 71 digs.
 
With the win Messiah advances to their six-straight MAC Commonwealth Championship, seeking their first NCAA tournament birth, and will take on the Mustangs of Stevenson University this Saturday Nov. 5 at 5:00 p.m. in Owings Mills, MD.