ANNVILLE, Pa. – The day before the Messiah women's volleyball travels to Glenside, Pa. to take on the second-seeded Arcadia Knights in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals, four Falcons were recognized as All-MAC Commonwealth performers by the Middle Atlantic Conference.
Amanda Dahlman was named the MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year while also being recognized on the First Team.
Mary Underman and
Kristen Seibert joined Dahlman as First Team performers while
Payton Manwaring was named Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth.
This is the first time since 2015 and just the third time ever (2012, 2015, 2019) that the Falcons have earned three First-Team accolades in the same season.
After being named Honorable Mention in 2017 and Second Team in 2018, Dahlman picks up her first-career First Team honor while also taking home Defensive Player of the Year honors. Dahlman captained the Falcons' defense all season long, leading the conference with 4.81 digs per set on a defense that was second in the MAC Commonwealth as a team with 15.98 digs per set. Without Dahlman's ability to cover balls and lead the defensive line, Messiah would not have been the strong all-around team that they were this season. On the season, Dahlman also dished out 71 assists and picked up 25 service aces to go along with her team-high in digs.
Joining Dahlman on the First Team were
Mary Underman and
Kristen Seibert. No stranger to the All-MAC Commonwealth end-of-season awards, Underman claims her third-straight First Team honor after being named Honorable Mention during her freshman season. Underman paced Messiah's offense with a career-high 331 kills and a .385 hitting percentage while also adding 44 aces through the regular season. Underman recorded her 1,000
th career kill as a Falcon against Alvernia on Oct. 15 and currently sits at 1,097 kills, good for fifth in program history.
In her first season in Grantham, Seibert earns First Team recognition after transferring into Messiah prior to the season. As the Falcons' primary setter, Seibert set her teammates up for success all season long, leading the conference in both assists with 953 and assists per set at 9.72. With her leading the charge, Messiah leads the conference in both total assists with 1,255 and assists per set at 12.18.
A year after claiming Honorable Mention honors, Manwaring bumped up to earn Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth this season. From her middle hitter position, Manwaring brought a contagious energy to the team while hitting an impressive .306 and recording 189 kills. She also led the team with 78 total blocks. Together Manwaring and Underman led an offense that was second in the conference in both hitting percentage at .236 and kills per set at 13.11.
As mentioned the Falcons earned the third seed in the Conference Tournament and will hit the road Wednesday evening as they travel to Arcadia to take on the Knights in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals at 7:00 p.m. The winner of Wedensday's semifinals will advance into the Conference Championship on Saturday evening.
