GRANTHAM, Pa. - Messiah defeated the Albright Lions 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-15) to advance to 5-2 in the conference and 13-14 overall. The Falcons' attack was led by Lanae Hunsberger who collected a career high, 18 kills with just four errors, putting her at a .424 clip. Mary Underman registered 12 kills through the three sets without recording an error, giving her a .750 hitting percentage. Payton Manwaring (8), Natalie Marsch (5), Hannah Berger (5), Kate Preudhomme (2), Logan Wolfe (2), all contributed to the Falcons' offense. Katie Wilcox and Heston Cowoski combined for 44 of the teams 48 assists on the night as both accumulated 22. Leading the way for Messiah's defense was Amanda Dahlman as she collected 19 digs.

How It Happened 
The first 20 points of the match were fairly even as Messiah worked to earn a 11-9 lead but the Falcons began a charge that would set the tone for the rest of the night. After Albright scored their tenth point, Messiah went on an 11-0 run with kills from Hunsberger, Mary Underman, and Hannah Berger to increase their lead to 21-10. The Lions collected two kills of their own but the Falcons answered right back with kills from Natalie Marsch and Mary Underman to give Messiah the 24-13 advantage. Mary Underman ended the first set with a service ace to give her squad the 25-13 victory. 
 
Messiah struck first in the second set with a kill from Lanae Hunsberger but the Lions collected three kills and forced some Falcon errors to take a 6-3 lead that caused Messiah to take a timeout. The talk proved useful as the Falcons quickly tied things up at 6-6 with a kill from Natalie Marsch and another service ace from Mary Underman. The Lions pulled ahead by two here but the Falcons retaliated with a 7-0 run, led by three-straight kills from Payton Manwaring and back-to-back kills from Lanae Hunsberger. Midway through the set with the score at 14-9, the Falcons and Lions saw a little bit of back and forth action but Messiah continued their heavy pressure with kills from Hannah Berger, Mary Underman, and Natalie Marsch. A big swing from Payton Manwaring and another from Lanae Hunsberger would end the second set 25-16. 
 
The third set was a fast start for the Falcons as they quickly took a 5-2 look, utilizing service aces from Hailey Miller and Amanda Dahlman and two kills from Mary Underman. From there, Messiah collected more kills from Lanae Hunsberger and one from Logan Wolfe to take a 9-4 lead. The Falcons' attack stayed strong as the Lions tried to fight back into the set. Messiah registered kills from Kate Preudhomme, Lanae Hunsberger, Logan Wolfe, and Mary Underman to pull ahead to a 18-9 lead. Despite the Lions trying to gain momentum, the Falcons were able to end the set with a huge kill from Lanae Hunsberger and take the third set 25-15. 
 
In The Box Score
As mentioned, Lanae Hunsberger collected a career high 18 kills in tonight's match. Mary Underman registered 12 kills of her own with zero errors, giving her a .750 hitting percentage. Payton Manwaring also recorded a clean slate with eight kills and zero errors to give her a .800 clip. Katie Wilcox and Heston Cowoski both put up 22 assists, combing for 44 of the teams 48 assists. Amanda Dahlman recorded 19 digs and four assists through the three sets. Mary Underman (2), Amanda Dahlman (1), and Hailey Miller (1), all registered service aces against the Lions.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Annville, Pa. on Oct. 25, to take on Lebanon Valley College, who is currently ranked third in the conference. Both teams enter the match with a 5-2 conference record. Thursday's match will begin at 7:00 p.m.