Washington D.C. – Messiah women's volleyball was swept by Salisbury University (19-25, 22-25, 24-26) in their final match of the Gallaudet Tournament. This was the first time these two teams have played since 2010 in which Salisbury came out on top and won 3-0. Jane Underman led the team with 19 kills and 10 digs. Emily Zellers finished with 10 kills while Brooke Gallagher dished out 30 assists and recorded 10 digs of her own.

Jane Underman and Brooke Gallagher were named to the Worthington Classic All-Tournament Team.
 
Match One: Messiah 3, Wesley 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-9)
Messiah women's volleyball dominated Wesley College this afternoon winning 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-9). Jane Underman had a tremendous match tallying a season-high 19 kills and finished with a .630 attack percentage. Kristen Douglas added 12 kills and had a .450 attack percentage. Taylor Hook played solid defense finishing with three block assists while Emily Zellers recorded 19 digs in the win. Brooke Gallagher dished out 36 assists to help the Falcons improve to 12-1 on the season.

Messiah came out aggressive and on the attack in the first set tallying more kills (15-6), had a higher attack percentage (.343-.029), and only committed three errors in the first set.  Jane Underman had an impressive first set showing finishing with seven kills.
 
The score was tied at eight when Messiah strung together three unanswered points off two kills by Jane Underman and a Wesley error to take the lead 11-8.  The Wolverines answered with a kill but the blocking duo of Mary Underman and Jane Underman were a force to be reckoned with as they started a six-point scoring streak for the Falcons.
 
Jane Underman hammered down two more kills, Brooke Gallagher served up three service aces, and a Wesley error finished the streak giving Messiah the 17-9 lead. Messiah pushed their lead to double digits 22-12 off a kill by Hannah Baumer and then scored three-straight points off two Wesley errors and a kill by Jane Underman to win the first set 25-12.
 
Messiah continued their strong play in the second set defeating Wesley 25-12. They finished with more kills (16-8), a higher attack percentage (.355-.103), and had three blocks in the second set.
 
With the scored tied at two Messiah scored seven-straight points off three Wesley errors, four kills, a block assist by Kristen Douglas and Taylor Hook, and a service ace by Emily Zellers to extend their lead 9-2.
 
Messiah held a 16-10 lead when Wesley tallied a kill, but the Falcons responded by scoring four unanswered points. Three Wolverine errors and a kill by Kristen Douglas accounted for the points.
 
Later the Falcons held an eight point lead 22-14 and scored three-straight points off two kills from Jane Underman and one from Brooke Gallagher to come within set victory, however, the Wolverines responded with a kill of their own. A final kill by Jane Underman-- her seventh of the set—was all Messiah needed to take the set two win.
 
The Falcons continued their dominance in the third and final set of the match winning 25-6. They tallied six-times as many kills (12-2), finished with an outstanding .550 attack percentage, and committed just one error in set three.
 
Messiah jumped to an early 6-0 lead to begin the third set. Three kills by Jane Underman, a kill from Mary Underman, a block, and service ace by Brooke Gallagher put together the scoring run.
 
With a double digit lead 15-5, Messiah tallied three unanswered points off two Jane Underman kills and a Wesley error to push their lead 18-5. A kill by Mary Underman gave the Falcons a 24-8 lead bringing them one point away from match victory when the Wolverines tallied a point of their own. However, the Wolverines committed a service error on the next play giving Messiah the set and match win.

Messiah played solid throughout the whole match and finished with 45 kills, a .402 attack percentage, and had 13 team blocks. This win pushed their win streak to eight-straight and seven of those have been 3-0 sweeps.

Match Two: Messiah 3, DeSales 1 (28-26, 24-26, 25-13, 25-23)
Messiah women's volleyball defeated DeSales university 3-1 (28-26, 24-26, 25-13, 25-23) this evening for their second win at the Gallaudet Tournament. Jane Underman led the team with 18 kills and Kristen Douglas added 13 and had 19 digs. Hannah Baumer also finished with 13 kills and recorded six blocks on the night. Emily Zellers finished with 20 digs while Brooke Gallagher had a season-high 52 assists in the winning effort.

The Bulldogs controlled the game for most of the first set but the Falcon offense came alive and utilized four pivotal scoring runs to come from behind and win 28-26.  Messiah tallied 16 kills, had a .182 attack percentage, and committed six errors in the first set.
 
With Messiah trailing 16-8, a kill by Jane Underman starting a three-point scoring streak while Brooke Gallagher recorded a service ace and DeSales committed an error to cut the lead 16-11. Later in the set DeSales had a comfortable 19-12 lead but Messiah responded scoring three unanswered points off a kill by Mary Underman and two block assists by Taylor Hook, Kristen Douglas, and Hannah Baumer.
 
The Falcons slowly kept chipping away and the most important scoring streak of the set happened with the score 21-16 when Messiah scored four-straight points. Two kills from Kristen Douglas, one from Taylor Hook, and a DeSales error were responsible for the scoring run. The Bulldogs answered back scoring two-straight points of their own off two kills to extend their lead 23-20.
 
Messiah didn't quit and three kills, two from Jane Underman and one from Kristen Douglas, tied the game at 23. On the next play, a kill from DeSales brought them one point away from set victory but a kill from Taylor Hook knotted the game up once again. The Falcons took their first lead of the set 25-24 off a setting error by the Bulldogs.
 
Finally with Messiah holding the lead 27-26 a kill by Hannah Baumer sealed the comeback win for the Falcons 28-26.
 
The second set was yet again a very competitive one with these two teams playing evenly matched. Messiah held a slight edge in kills (18-17), had a higher attack percentage (.349-.302) and committed less errors (3-4) than DeSales in the second set.
 
With the game tied at 11 the Falcons were able to put together a three-point scoring run off kills by Hannah Baumer, Kristen Douglas, and Jane Underman to take the lead 14-11. Messiah held the slight edge and DeSales was unsuccessful to break that barrier for most of the set, however, trailing 22-18 the Bulldogs scored four-straight points to tie it up at 22. 

With DeSales leading 24-23 they scored the last two set points off a kill and Messiah error to take the second set 26-24.
 
The third set was different from the first two as Messiah dominated.  They tallied more kills (12-8), had an impressive .571 attack percentage, and didn't commit any errors in the third set.
 
The Falcons jumped to an early 3-0 lead and three-straight kills from Jane Underman extended it 6-0. Later on with Messiah ahead 9-3 they scored five unanswered points to push their lead to double digits 14-3. A kill from Kristen Douglas started the scoring run while two DeSales errors and two service aces from Emily Zellers added to it.
 
The Bulldogs could not break through Messiah's dominance and with a seven-point lead 21-13 they went on to score the remainder of the third set points. A kill by Kristen Douglas, an attack error by DeSales, and two service aces from Emily Zellers—her third and fourth of the set—earned Messiah the set three win 25-13.
 
The fourth and final set proved to be similar to the first two with both teams on the attack and points were traded back-and-forth. Messiah, however, finished with more kills (14-11), a better attack percentage (.196-.042), and committed less errors (5-9) in the fourth set.
 
With Messiah trailing early 7-4 they were able to string together six-straight points. A kill from Kristen Douglas started the streak while two kills from Hannah Baumer finished it giving the Falcons a 10-7 lead.
 
Later in the set Messiah held a comfortable 16-11 lead but the Bulldogs tallied five unanswered points off four Falcon errors and a kill to tie the game at 16. Messiah responded and were ahead 20-17 but DeSales once more would put together a scoring run, this time four-straight points, to take the lead 21-20.
 
With the game tied 22-22 Messiah tallied two points off two DeSales errors to pull within one point of set and match victory but the Bulldogs kept the Falcons at bay tallying a kill to cut the lead 24-23. On the very next play Taylor Hook hammered down a kill to give Messiah the set and match victory.
 
Messiah finished with a season-high 60 kills, 73 digs, and recorded 17 blocks on the night. This win pushes their win streak to nine, and they'll look to add more on Saturday at the Gallaudet Tournament.

Match Three: Messiah 3, Marymount 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25,19)
Messiah women's volleyball swept Marymount University 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) in their first match of the day. Jane Underman led the team with 13 kills and Kirsten Douglas added seven and 13 kills. Emily Zellers recorded 10 digs while Brooke Gallagher finished with 26 assists. The Falcons push their win streak to 10 and will finish the day with a 4:00 p.m. match against Salisbury University.

The first set was a close one as both teams came out strong. The Falcons struggled to find a good offensive flow but prevailed winning 25-21.
 
With the score tied at nine Messiah scored three unanswered points off two Marymount errors and a service ace by Taylor Hook to take the lead 12-9. The Saints responded with two-straight points of their own but the Falcons kept the slight advantage 13-12.
 
Messiah tallied three-straight points, Kristen Douglas and Hannah Baumer each had kills and Jane Underman contributed a service ace to extend the lead 16-12. Later in the set the Falcons were ahead 24-17 but the Saints put together four unanswered points to pull within three 24-21. The Falcons scored the final point off a Saint attack error to take the first set win.
 
The Falcon offensive came alive in the second set as they tallied more kills (14-10), had a higher attack percentage (.296-.097), and committed less errors (6-7), than the Saints.
 
Messiah utilized two Marymount errors, kills by Jane Underman, Kristen Douglas, and Mary Underman, as well as two service aces to take an early 7-1 lead. Later in the set with the Falcons winning 14-12 a kill and great block assist by Mary Underman and Kristen Douglas pushed the lead to four, 16-12.
 
Marymount made a late run to pull within two 21-19 but Messiah scored the last four points of the set. Kills by Jane Underman and Kristen Douglas started the scoring run while two Marymount errors ended it giving the Falcons the second set victory 25-19.
 
The Falcons won the third and final set by a score of 25-19. They recorded 11 kills, had a .235 attack percentage, and only committed three errors in the third set.
 
Messiah held an early 7-2 advantage but Marymount scored six-straight points to take the lead 8-7. Later with the score tied at 10 Messiah tallied eight unanswered points off four kills, three Marymount errors, and a service ace to take the lead 18-10.
 
The Falcons kept the lead the remainder of the set and held off a late scoring run by the Saints. A kill by Hanna Baumer gave Messiah a 22-13 lead when Marymount put together a three-point scoring run to cut the lead 22-16.
 
With Messiah leading 24-17, Marymount tallied two points but on the next play a kill from Jane Underman earned the Falcons the set and match win.

Match Four: Messiah 0, Salisbury 3 (18-25, 21-25, 24-26)
The Falcons went down early in the first set, trailing 14-7 but scored three-straight points off two Seagull errors and a kill to cut the lead 14-10. Later in the set Messiah managed to pull within two, 17-15, but Salisbury went on a four-point scoring run utilizing three kills and a Messiah error to extend their lead 21-15.
 
Messiah responded with two-straight points but it wasn't enough as Salisbury went on to win the first set 25-18.
 
Set two began with the Falcons on the attack and led early 6-5 but the Seagulls scored three-straight points off three kills to take the 8-5 lead. Later with Messiah trailing 13-12 they tallied three unanswered points off three Salisbury errors to regain the lead 15-13.
 
With the game tied at 22 Salisbury tallied the final three set points off two Messiah errors and a kill to take the set two win 25-21.
 
The third and final set was similar to the second with Messiah leading early 8-4 before Salisbury scored three-straight points to pull within one. Messiah responded tallying four-straight points of their own off two kills by Jane Underman, a kill from Kristen Douglas, and a Salisbury error.
 
Later in the set the Falcons held a15-10 advantage that quickly disappeared as the Seagulls put together a six-point scoring streak to take the lead 16-10. Messiah answered back scoring two points of their own but Salisbury would once again go on a run scoring six points in a row to pull ahead 21-17.
 
Messiah didn't quit and down by one 24-23 a kill by Mary Underman tied the game, however, it wasn't enough as Salisbury tallied the final two match points off a Messiah error and kill to win the third set 26-24.
 
The loss drops the Falcons to 14-2 on the season but they look to bounce back as they travel to Lancaster Bible College next Wednesday Sept. 28 for a 7:00 p.m. match.