GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team was defeated in the MAC Commonwealth quarterfinal 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-10, 23-25, 13-15) by the Alvernia Golden Wolves.  Mary Underman led the team with 11 kills and six blocks, while Jennifer Rusling dished out 32 assists, and Amanda Dahlman tallied 25 digs on defense.

Both teams came out on the attack and the atmosphere definitely felt like a MAC Commonwealth Conference Tournament game. Messiah jumped to an early 9-5 lead in the first set with a couple kills by Mary Underman and Alvernia errors, but later the Golden Wolves cut the lead and tied the game at 12. Points were traded back-and-forth for the remainder of the set but the pivotal moment came with the scored tied at 21, Alvernia tallied four-straight points to win set one 25-21.
 
The Falcons played better in the second set and tallied 14 kills which helped earn them the 25-21 win. Even after falling behind 8-2 early, they didn't let that deter them and slowly fought their way back into the game. Trailing midway through 16-12, a kill by Ellen Musselman, a service ace from Amanda Dahlman, an error by Alvernia, and then a big block by Mary Underman and Hannah Berger tied it up at 16. After the Golden Wolves responded with a point, the Falcons answered with three-straight to take their first lead 19-17. They kept a comfortable two-point cushion and finished set two with three-straight points to win.
 
Messiah kept the momentum going into the third set and dominated winning 25-10. Although they only tallied eight kills, Alvernia made eight errors and the Falcons used that to their advantage. They were leading by double digits 18-3 before the Golden Wolves managed to get some offense going but at that point it was far too late as the Falcons kept up the intensity and took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Hoping to win set four and end the match, the Falcons struggled and were outhit (13-9) and committed seven errors that were costly in the fourth set. However, they didn't make it easy for the Golden Wolves and still battled but ultimately fell 25-23.
 
Trailing by one 21-20 late in the set, kills by Mary Underman, Ellen Musselman, and service ace by Underman put Messiah ahead 23-21 and it looked as if the Falcons would win. However, the Golden Wolves responded big scoring four points in a row to win set four and tie the match.
 
Unfortunately, things did not go Messiah's way in the fifth set and Alvernia utilized an early 8-2 lead to win. The Falcons battled and kept chipping away but after falling behind it was difficult to come back and the Golden Wolves went on to win 15-13 and advance to the MAC Commonwealth semifinal on Wednesday.

This marks the first year in the past six season that the Falcons will not be contending for the MAC Commonwealth Championship. The Falcons finished the year with a 14-16 overall record.