SELINSGROVE, Pa. - The Falcons took the first and third set but Rochester forced a decisive fifth set and the Falcons lost 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 15-12). Lanae Hunsberger (15), Natalie Marsch (12), and Kate Preudhomme all collected double-digit kills for Messiah while Katie Wilcox registered 28 assists with Heston Cowoski chiming in for 23 of her own as well. Amanda Dahlman (27) and Natalie Marsch (20) both accumulated over 20 digs while Jessica Zellers 10 for herself.
 
Match One: Rochester Defeats Messiah 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 15-12)
 
How It Happened
The Falcons took the first set with a commanding 25-15 score, utilizing 11 kills to keep the pressure on. Errors on Rochester gave Messiah the 2-0 lead to start the match and the Falcons would use the momentum well as they forced Rochester to take a timeout with the score 8-3 in Messiah's favor. From there the Falcons would use kills from Mary Underman, Heston Cowoski, and Natalie Marsch to continue the high pressure. With Kate Preudhomme chiming in for the Messiah attack, Rochester would again take a timeout with the score 17-8. The Falcons registered multiple kills from Lanae Hunsberger and Mary Underman to help claim set one. 

In the second set, the Falcons fought their way to an 11-5 lead but Rochester battled their way back after a quick timeout to pull within one of Messiah. After kills from Underman and Hunsberger again, the Falcons would expand their lead to 20-16 but a late push from Rochester would force Messiah to drop the set 25-22. 
 
The third set ended in Messiah's favor as they collected 16 kills and swung at a .333 clip. The Falcons had to work to win this set as Rochester forced Messiah to take a timeout as the Falcons were down 14-10. The timeout would prove useful for Messiah as kills from Ellen Musselman, Kate Preudhomme and Lanae Hunsberger would tie things up and eventually give Messiah the lead. The Falcons carried the momentum all the way to the end of the set with Mary Underman registering a service ace and Hannah Berger, Kate Preudhomme, and Natalie Marsch all contributing kills to help end the set 25-21.
 
The fourth and fifth sets proved to be the most difficult of the day as both teams went back and forth until the end. The fourth set was home to four lead changes and exemplified the Falcons' offense as the team accumulated 15 kills. The Falcons found their self on top with the score at 20-19 but the small lead wouldn't be enough as Rochester took the set 26-24. In the fifth set, the Falcons played from behind until they had the game tied 8-8 and eventually took a 12-10 lead with kills from Berger and Underman and two errors on Rochester. Rochester made a late push once again though and would end the match 15-10.
 
Match Two: Susquehanna Defeats Messiah 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-16)
The Falcons started the first set with a 10-4 that would force Susquehanna to take a timeout. Messiah continued to pressure the Riverhawks but Susquehanna battled back and tied things up with the score at 16-16 before the Falcons called a timeout. The Riverhawks continued to pressure the Falcons and would end the set 25-20. 

The second and third sets proved to be a slow start for the Falcons. In the second set, Messiah was on the opposite side of a 10-3 run that forced the Falcons to take a timeout. Errors on Susquehanna and kills from Hannah Berger and Ellen Musselman helped Messiah try to gain some momentum but it wouldn't be enough as the Riverhawks went on a 12-4 run to end the set 25-12. The third match started evenly as the Falcons registered four kills and a service ace to stay close to the Riverhawks but Susquehanna would pull away again with heavy attacking pressure to end the set 25-16.

What's Up Next
Messiah will host Widener University on Sept. 25, at 7:00 p.m. to play their fourth conference game of the season.