GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team ended the regular season with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-5, 25-16) sweep over the Valley Forge Patriots in Hitchcock Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons turned in their second-highest hitting percentage of the season, swinging at a .319 clip. That impressive hitting percentage was blustered by an unreal, .850 hitting percentage in the second set. Messiah claimed the second set 25-5 and collected 17 kills without an error on 20 swings.

Individually, Messiah spread the kills around with 10 different Falcons collecting at least one kills and four players finishing with seven or more. Hannah Berger led the attack with nine kills in the match.

Amanda Dahlman collected 13 digs in the match, pushing her career total of 1,000 over the course of 60 matches in her first two seasons in Grantham. In 213 career sets play across her freshman and sophomore seasons, Dahlman is averaging 4.69 digs per set. This season she currently ranks 45th in the country while averaging 5.45 digs per set.

The Falcons will next take the court in the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game on Monday night when they host the fifth-seeded Widener Pride in Hitchcock arena.

How It Happened
While the Falcons earned a 3-0 sweep on Saturday, they trailed in the beginning portions of the first set after four hitting errors help give Valley Forge a 5-2 lead. Messiah battled through the sluggish start, eventually winning the opening set 25-16. Messiah went on a 10-2 run in the middle of the set that turned a 12-11 lead into a 22-13 advantage that put the set away.

After battling through the first set, Messiah cruised to their most dominate set of the season and possibly, program history. The Falcons won the second set 25-5 and hit an astounding .850 in the game with 17 kills on 20 swings without making an error. Mary Underman led the offense attack in the set with seven kills on seven swings for a perfect, 1.000 hitting percentage.

Messiah jumped out to a quick 12-4 lead in the third set, but the Patriots would not go away, hanging around and pulling within four at 16-12. The Falcons hung tough and eventually closed out the set with a 5-1 run, with senior Ellen Musselman winning the final two points of the match with a kill and a solo block. Mussleman's effort helped Messiah to a 25-16 victory in the set and closed out the 3-0 sweep.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will now prepare for the Widener Pride, who they face on Monday evening in the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game at 7:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena. Messiah earned a tight, 3-0 (26-24, 30-28, 25-23) victory on Sept. 25 when the Falcons and Pride met in Grantham earlier this season.