WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team defeated the Rutgers-Camden Scarlet Raptors Saturday afternoon 3-0 (25-14, 30-28, 25-20) at Wilkes University as part of a tri-match hosted by the Colonels. The Falcons also defeated Wilkes University 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-14).  Mary Underman led the way for the Falcons in both matches, as she recorded 17 kills in the Falcons victory over Rutgers-Camden and 12 in their win over Wilkes.

Messiah hit an impressive .358 as a team with 52 kills with five Falcons recording five or more kills in their match with Rutgers-Camden. The team hit a solid .296 against Wilkes and had six Falcons record five or more kills. With the wins, the Falcons move to 21-6 overall on the season and will battle MAC Commonwealth adversary Albright College in Reading, Pa. on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. 

Messiah Defeats Rutgers-Camden 3-0 (25-14, 30-28, 25-20)
With set one tied at 7-7, the Falcons overwhelmed the Scarlet Raptors with an explosive 7-0 run to take the lead 14-7. Leading Messiah during the stretch was Payton Manwaring with three kills while Kate Preudhomme chipped in two kills during the run. Although the Scarlet Raptors cut the lead down to four on a few occasions, Messiah used their momentum from the run to take the set 25-14. Manwaring recorded four kills in the set, while Mary Underman recorded five.

Scarlet-Raptors Fight Back
The Falcons got out to a 12-4 lead in set two, before the Raptors began to storm back. They used a 7-2 streak to cut the lead to just three at 14-11. Kills from Underman and Hannah Berger along with a Raptor error extended the lead back to five at 17-12.

Messiah continued to hold Rutgers-Camden at bay throughout the late stages of the set, holding a 22-19 lead. The Raptors used two Jordan Erskine kills to help fuel a 5-1 flurry that put Rutgers-Camden in the lead at 24-23. Messiah rattled off two straight points to put them in the driver's seat at 25-24 before the Raptors answered with two straight points of their own to turn the tides and take a 26-25 lead. The teams continued to trade leads before a Morgan Mulligan kill put the Raptors up 28-27. The Falcons would not be denied though, using kills from Underman and Payton Manwaring along with an Underman ace to put the set to bed and give the Falcons a 30-28 game win and a 2-0 match lead.

Falcons Hang Tough, Win Match
After the Scarlet Raptors got out to a quick 5-1 lead in game three, Messiah got hot and went on a 12-1 streak that gave them a 13-6 lead in the set. Mary Underman dominated the stretch, recording three kills and three aces during the run. With the set in the Falcons favor, they stretched their lead to 21-12, but the Scarlet Raptors were not done yet.

They produced a 7-2 run that cut the lead to four at 23-19 and made the Falcons sweat it out for the remainder of the set. With the help of an error and a Manwaring kill, Messiah held on for the 25-20 victory to win the match 3-0. Underman recorded a career-high six aces in the match.

Falcons Defeat Wilkes University 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-14)
After a quick turnaround, the Falcons got right back into action against the Colonels of Wilkes University. Messiah sprinted out to a 10-3 lead that was aided by a pair of Kristen Seibert and Mary Underman kills. Wilkes answered with a 5-0 flurry that was capped off by a Jamey Mikovich ace to make the score 10-8. Messiah continued to hang onto the lead, but with the score at 14-11, the Colonels rattled off two straight points to get to within one at 14-13. The Falcons recovered though and went on a 7-1 streak to extend their lead to 21-14. This proved to be the difference as the Falcons held off a late Wilkes rally to win the set 25-20 and go up 1-0 in the match.

Falcons Stay Hot
The two teams traded 4-0 runs at the outset of game two to make it 4-4 before two Underman kills helped captain another 4-0 Falcon run to give them an 8-4 advantage. Messiah continued to hold onto this led throughout the set and stretched their lead to seven at 18-11 after a pair of Natalie Marsch aces. The Colonels would not go down quietly though, cutting the lead to 20-17 after a 6-2 run. The Falcons prevailed though, using kills from Kate Preudhomme and Rachel Garratt to spearhead a 5-0 run that gave Messiah the 25-17 set win.

Messiah stormed out to an 8-2 lead in set three thanks to the help of a pair of Marsch kills. As they did all match long, the Falcons continued to preserve their leads. They extended their lead to 16-9, with five Falcons recording at least one kill during the stretch. Wilkes cut the lead to five after a 4-2 streak made it 18-13, but Messiah ended the match on a 7-1 run to win the set 25-14 and the match 3-0.

Total Team Effort
Six Falcons recorded at least five kills in the win. Mary Underman led the team with 12 kills while Rachel Garratt had seven kills, and Kate Preudhomme had six kills. Payton Manwaring, Natalie Marsch, and Kristen Seibert all recorded five kills in the match. Seibert had a great day setting up her teammates for success, recording 39 kills against Rutgers-Camden and 29 against Wilkes.

What's Up Next
With the team moving to 21-6 overall on the season, the Falcons return to MAC Commonwealth play on Tuesday night when they travel to Albright College to take on the Lions at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons have already clinched a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Conference tournament coming up in early November.