GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah women's volleyball team responded in a big way finishing the day with a sweep over Houghton College (25-14, 25-23, 25-23). After falling to York earlier today, Messiah utilized a strong offensive attack and solid defense to earn the victory. Braedyn Gallagher had another impressive performance leading the team with 15 kills and .345 attack percentage. Payton Manwaring and Mary Underman each added 11 kills in the win. Jennifer Rusling tallied 43 assists and on defense she led with 15 digs. The Falcons also finished with six team blocks, 52 kills, and committed a season-low 11 errors.

The win moves Messiah to 3-7 on the year and they are back in action next Wednesday Sept. 20 on the road at Lycoming College. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m.

Match One: Messiah 2, York 3
The Messiah women's volleyball played a very competitive and close match against York College to begin their day of competition falling in five sets 3-2 (25-23, 24-26, 23-25, 26-24, 11-15). Braedyn Gallagher and Lanae Hunsberger eached tallied 16 kills to lead the Falcons while Mary Underman had 11. Jennifer Rusling finished with 52 assists and Amanda Dahlman had 19 digs on defense.

This match took all five sets to determine the winner and both teams were pretty evenly matched. With the Falcons trailing midway through the first set 14-8, they scored four-straight points to pull within two 14-12. The Spartans kept a lead but the turning point came later when the Falcons utilized a four-point scoring run to take a 23-22 lead. After York scored a point to tie the game, Messiah tallied the final two points to take set one 25-23.
 
Messiah got off to a slow start in the second set and found themselves trailing by as much as eight at one point 19-11. They didn't let the scoring gap deter them, however, and responded with seven unanswered points to cut the lead 19-18. Mary Underman, who was back on the court today after nursing an injury, served up a few aces and Payton Manwaring hammered down two kills to aid the Falcons' scoring.
 
York kept the lead but not long after a kill again from Manwaring and a block by Underman and Kate Preudhomme tied the game at 23. After the Spartans tallied a point, the Falcons responded with a kill but then York scored the final two points taking set two 26-24.
 
The third set was a competitive one with both teams playing very evenly matched. The Falcons finished with 15 kills and a .257 attack percentage. With the Spartans leading 14-11, three errors by the Spartans and a kill from Mary Underman gave the Falcons a 15-14 edge. The rest of the set provided a lot of back-and-forth scoring and when one team would score the other would respond with a point. Braedyn Gallagher hammered down a kill to tie the game at 23, but York tallied the final two points to win and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Looking to keep the match going the Falcons got off to a strong start taking an early 11-4 lead. Lanae Hunsberger and Mary Underman were forces at the net both hammering down kills. Messiah kept York on the heels and stayed in control for most of the set but the Spartans managed to chip away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 22. A kill from Gallagher pushed the Falcons ahead 23-22, but then the Spartans answered with two points to take their first lead of the set. Messiah didn't falter as they responded big with three-straight points to win the set 26-24.
 
The momentum was certainly in Messiah's favor heading into the fifth and final set but York came out strong and jumped to an early 10-3 lead and that made it difficult for the Falcons to really get going. They did slowly cut into the lead, trailing by just three at one point 13-10 and then a kill from Kate Preudhomme brought them within two 13-11, but a service error and then final kill from the Spartans gave the Falcons the 15-11 loss.
 
Overall Messiah played well finishing with 62 kills, a .254 attack percentage, and 72 team digs.

Match Two: Messiah 3, Houghton 0
With the score 3-1, Messiah hammered down four kills in a row, two from Braedyn Gallagher and two from Mary Underman, to widen the gap 7-1. The Falcons kept the Highlanders at bay keeping a nice comfortable lead throughout the whole set. Leading 17-10, they tallied four-straight points off kills from Manwaring, Gallagher, and an ace by Amanda Dahlman to lead by double digits 21-10. They then went on to win the first set 25-14.
 
Messiah again got off to a hot start in the second set and it was nice to see Mary Underman providing a strong presence in the middle. With the score 4-2, she provided two big blocks, along with a kill by Gallagher, to extend the lead 7-2. Later with the Falcons ahead 14-10, Lanae Hunsberger had a couple kills and errors by the Highlanders pushed the lead to 18-10.
 
Houghton made a little noise though and went on a six-point scoring run to cut the lead 18-16, but Messiah answered by tallying four points to stay in control 22-16. The Highlanders kept pressing the Falcons the rest of the set but only enough to pull within one and Messiah went on to win set two 25-23.
 
The third set win didn't come easy for Messiah as Houghton was looking to keep the match going but the offensive power proved to be too much for the Highlanders. Payton Manwaring, Mary Underman, and Braedyn Gallagher all played very strong in the set finishing with 15 kills among the three. Jennifer Rusling served up three aces in the set and combined with solid defense, the Falcons won the final set 25-23 to earn the sweep.