GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team split a pair of sweeps on opening day to open the Battlefield Classic in Gettysburg on Friday. The Falcons opened up their season with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-8, 25-17) victory over the Gallaudet Bison before dropping a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-12) match to the host Gettysburg Bullets.

Match One: Messiah defeats Gallaudet - 3-0 (25-22, 25-8, 25-17)
Mary Underman and Payton Manwaring led the charge offensively for the Falcons, collecting seven kills each against the Bison. Braedyn Gallagher picked up six service aces in the first match, including three-straight near the end of the final set. Lanae Hunsberger tallied five kills of her own while dishing out three aces and two blocks.

In the opening set, Gallaudet held leads of 13-10 and 20-17, but the Falcons faught their way bac. Eventually, Messiah earned a 25-22 victory thanks, in part, to back-to-back service aces by Underman.

Messiah dominated the second set, taking an 11-1 lead and never looking back. In the set, the Falcons posting a .435 hitting percentage (11 kills, 1 error) while the Bison collected six kills and six errors for a .000 hitting percentage. Lanae Hunsberger collected three of her five kills during the second set and contributed two of the six service aces that Messiah collected in the set.

Three errors by the Bison and a service ace by Braedyn Gallagher gave the Falcons a quick 4-1 lead in the third set. Kills by Payton Manwaring and Mary Underman would help the Falcons stretch their lead to 8-2 over the Bison. Gallaudet battled back to take a 12-11 lead with a kill and three errors on the Falcons before Messiah went on a 4-0 run by way of a kill from Payton Manwaring and three straight service aces from Mary Underman. Braedyn Gallagher collected three straight services aces to give the Falcons a 22-16 lead before she would close things out for Messiah with a kill to end set three.

Of note, Messiah's 18 service aces against the Bison are their most in a match since they also collected 18 against the Alvernia Crusaders in a three-set match on Sept. 24, 2013.

Match Two: Gettysburg defeats Messiah 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-12)
The Falcons were on the wrong side of a sweep in the nightcap of their doubleheader on Friday. The Gettysburg Bullets downed the Falcons 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 25-12) to wrap up day one of the Battlefield Classic. Messiah accumulated 23 hitting errors in the match and swung at a .041 clip as a team compared to the .215 hitting percentage for the Bullets.

In the opening set, Messiah trailed by as many as seven at 13-6, but rallied back with a 14-7 run to tie the set at 20-20. After trading the next four points the Falcons and Bullets were even at 22-22, but Gettysburg earned the next two points off blocks to take an important 24-22 advantage. Gettysburg's Francesca Garison capped off the set with a kill and gave the opening set to the Bullets at 25-22.

In the second set, nine errors by the Falcons would lead to a strong 17-9 lead for the Bullets before Messiah could fight back. A quick 7-2 run that was highlighted by kills from Katie Wilcox, Kate Preudhomme, and two from Lanae Hunsberger forced Gettysburg to take a timeout after their lead had been whittled down to four at 18-14. Following the timeout the Falcons and Bullets traded nearly every other point and Gettysburg claimed the set 25-19.

Preudhomme connected for a kill to open the third set, but nine-straight Gettysburg points followed and the Bullets ran away with the final set. Following a 5-2 Messiah run, the Falcons cut the lead to as few as five at 13-8, but it was not enough as the Bullets closed out the set on a 9-1 run to claim the set (25-12) and the match (3-0).

The Falcons move to 1-1 on the season and continue play at the Battlefield Classic against Lancaster Bible College at 10:00 AM followed by their final game of the tournament against Dickinson College at 2:00 PM.