GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Saturday afternoon the Messiah women's volleyball team hosted their first matches in Hitchcock Arena during the 2018 season. Messiah went 2-0 on the day, defeating the Cabrini Cavaliers 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 15-7) in their morning match before sweeping the Houghton Highlanders 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-17) to wrap-up their tri-match.
 
Match One: Messiah defeats Cabrini - 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-17, 21-25, 15-7)

In The Box Score
Against Cabrini, Lanae Hunsberger registered 15 kills and swung at an impressive .452 clip to lead Messiah to the five-set victory. Hannah Berger also finished the match with double-digit kills, recording 11 in the contest. In total, six different Falcons finished with at least seven kills against Cabrini. On the defensive end, Amanda Dahlman and Braedyn Gallagher led the charge with 25 and 18 digs, respectively.

In the first set, the Falcons collected 12 of their 62 kills from the day but struggled to keep up with the Cavaliers attack as they registered 16 kills with only two errors. Although the Falcons went down, 0-1, they bounced back strongly in the second set and held the momentum shift into the third. During those two sets, Messiah collected 29 kills which came from seven different Falcons. 

During the fourth set, Messiah recorded kill after kill to lead the Cavaliers 9-1 until a momentum shift occurred. A few errors and four straight kills brought Cabrini within one with the score 12-13 in favor of Messiah. Messiah fought back with kills from Lanae Hunsberger, Kate Preudhomme, Hannah Berger, and Mary Underman to bring the set to 20-20 but the Cavaliers allowed just one more point for Messiah before ending the set with a kill. 

Messiah came out of the break strong, utilizing kills from Ellen Musselman, Lanae Hunsberger, and Mary Underman to garner a 7-2 lead over the cavaliers. The Falcons allowed just five more points for Cabrini before Braedyn Gallagher recorded a service ace to cap off the first match of the day.


Match Two: Messiah defeats Houghton - 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-17)

In The Box Score
In their second match of the day it was Mary Underman with the impressive stat line. The junior notched nine kills on just 11 swings, without an error for an eye-popping .818 hitting percentage in the straight-set victory for Messiah. Payton Manwaring also collected nine digs of her own off of 14 swings which gave her a .571 hitting percentage. 

Houghton certainly had their chances in the first set, holding the lead three separate time but the Falcons proved dominant as they collected 12 kills with just four errors. The Falcons continued their excellence through the second and third set, registering 27 kills between the two sets. In the third and final set of the day, Messiah had a clean slate in the error column, giving them an impressive .520 hitting percentage and a commanding victory over the Highlanders.

In the three sets, Natalie Marsch and Amanda Dahlman each held their own for the Falcons' defense, both recording 10 digs. 

What's Up Next
The Falcons are back in action on Tuesday when they host Stevenson University at 7:00 p.m. in Hitchcock Arena.
 
More on this story to follow…