GRANTHAM, Pa. – A new era began this evening as the Messiah women's volleyball defeated Alvernia University 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 25-11) in their home opener and first-ever athletic contest on the Jordan Court. The Falcons played strong and provided a lot of excitement for a big crowd in newly renovated Hitchcock Arena. Braedyn Gallagher and Payton Manwaring led the team with 12 kills and Ellen Musselman was a force in the middle hammering down eight. Jennfier Rusling dished out a team-high 41 assists and defensively Amanda Dahlman tallied 17 digs.
 
Messiah improves to 2-6 overall and 1-1 in the MAC Commonwealth with the win.
 
Defense, Defense
The first set was played evenly matched by both teams but Messiah played some good defense and finished with 12 kills and a.258 attack percentage. Alvernia scored the first two points, the Falcons answered with four points in a row to take the lead 4-2. Payton Manwaring had two kills and Braedyn Gallagher provided one in the run.
 
Later with the score 13-9 in favor of the Falcons, they utilized kills from Lanae Hunsberger and Gallagher, as well as a service ace from Jessica Zellers to extend their lead 16-9. The Golden Wolves kept chipping away and pulled within three at one point 23-22 but a big kill from Manwaring put Messiah one point away from victory. After a kill by Alvernia the Falcons ended the first set on a high note with a big block from Kate Preudhomme and Payton Manwaring to take the first set 25-23.
 
Momentum Shift
A slight change occurred in the second set with the Golden Wolves jumping to an early 3-0 lead, and was ahead by four at one point 6-2, but four-straight errors by Alvernia allowed Messiah to tie the game at six. Later with the Falcons trailing by five 13-8, a kill from Hunsberger and a block assist again by Payton Manwaring and Kate Preudhomme cut the lead 13-11.
 
This set played out very similar to the first one except Messiah was constantly chipping away at Alvernia's lead and a big kill from Ellen Mussleman late in the gamae brought them within one 23-22, but an error by Messiah and block assist by Alvernia sealed the set two win for them 25-22.
 
Evenly Matched, Falcons Grind It Out
The third set proved to be the most exciting of the night as it came down to the wire with both teams on the attack looking to take that crucial lead in the match. With the score tied early at four, Messiah tallied three points in a row to take the lead 7-4. Later though, ahead 10-8, the Golden Wolves scored four-straight points to regain control 12-10. The Falcons responded with a service ace from Jessica Zellers and again another big block from the front line to tie it back up.
 
A pivotal moment came with the scored knotted at 17, four-straight points by the Falcons shifted the energy and gave them a 21-17 advantage. Manwaring and Rusling had kills in the run, while Ellen Mussleman served up an ace to aid the Falcons. Alvernia didn't go away, however, even after trailing 22-18 they tallied three points to cut the gap by one 22-21.
 
With Messiah two points away from take a 2-1 lead in the match, a kill from Braedyn Gallagher brought them one point away from victory, and then yet again the defense shined for the Falcons. Ellen Musselman and Hannah Berger recorded a block assist to earn Messiah the set three win 25-23.
 
Falcons Fly
After ending the third set on a high note, the Falcons kept their momentum going into what would be the fourth and final set. Not only did they dominate winning 25-11, they also finished with 14 kills and a terrific .565 attack percentage.
 
They jumped to an early 6-2 advantage utilizing their strong attack by Gallagher and Manwaring, who played solid all night. A big run came later in the set with the Falcons ahead 9-6 they tallied eight-straight points to pull away from the Golden Wolves. Payton Manwaring hammered down four kills in that scoring run.
 
Alvernia was not able to recover and Messiah kept dominating the remainder of the set. With the Falcons leading by double digits 24-11, a service ace by Braedyn Gallagher sealed the match win for the Falcons.
 
Messiah finished with 44 kills and a .257 attack percentage and it seemed as though a more consistent rhythm on offensive was found. Defense, however, was certainly the strong point tonight as they finished with 11 blocks and 54 digs.
 
The Falcons will look to keep things rolling into this weekend when they host a tri-match with York College and Houghton College on Saturday. The first game begins at 11:00 a.m. in Hitchcock Arena.