CHESTER, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team defeated the Widener Pride 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 26-24) on Tuesday night, but it did not come easily. Widener hung tough with Messiah throughout the match, but the Falcons used an all-around great effort to get the victory.

The Falcons move to 14-5 overall and are now 2-2 in the MAC Commonwealth. After a week off, the Falcons get back on the court in Williamsport, Pa. when they take on the Lycoming Warriors at 7:00 p.m.

Back-And-Forth Battle Early
Neither team was able to gain an advantage in the early going of this one. Whenever one team got ahead, the other team would claw back. Messiah led 17-12 and forced a Pride timeout, but out of the timeout Widener took advantage of some Falcon errors to work it back to a 23-21 game. A Mary Underman kill got things to match-point, but then Widener got a kill to make it 24-22. Lanae Hunsberger then claimed the set with a kill of her own to give Messiah a 25-22 win and a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Messiah Controls Set Two
The Falcons stormed out to an 8-1 lead in set two, being led by a pair of Kate Preudhomme and Underman kills. Widener worked back to within four at 12-8 to force a Messiah timeout, but out of the break the Falcons used three Kristen Seibert aces to go on a 6-0 run and take an 18-8 lead. This lead would prove to be too much for Widener to come back from, as Messiah won the set 25-13.

Falcons Show Heart
The Pride did not disappear in set three, taking a 6-2 lead and forcing a Messiah timeout. Widener extended their lead by one after a Sydney Nichols ace made it 11-6. This is when the Falcons began to make their move in the game, going on a 4-0 run to cut the lead to one at 11-10.

 This began a back-and-forth affair between the two teams similar to the first set as the teams worked their way to a 19-19 tie. Two Preudhomme kills helped Messiah take a 23-19 lead, but the Pride fought back with a 4-0 run to knot the game back up at 23-23. Neither team wanted to taste defeat in this set. After trading points to make it 24-24, the Falcons took advantage of an error before an Underman kill sent Messiah home with a 26-24 set win and a 3-0 match win.

The difference in the match came from Messiah's defense, as the Falcons recorded 56 digs to Widener's 46. Messiah was led on defense by Hailey Miller, who recorded a career high 19 digs, while Natalie Marsch also contributed 14 digs for the Falcons.

What's Up Next
With this win, Messiah jumps to 2-2 in the MAC Commonwealth and 14-5 overall. The Falcons will have a week off before playing Lycoming College next Tuesday on the road at 7:00 p.m.