GLENSIDE, Pa. - The third-seeded Messiah women's volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking end to their season on Wednesday night. Playing the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals, the Falcons took the first two sets from the Arcadia Knights by scores of 25-16 and 25-17 to build a 2-0 lead. Arcadia rallied back to win a tight third set, 25-22 before forcing a decisive fifth with a 25-15 victory in the fourth set.
 
With the match tied 2-2, Arcadia won the fifth set 15-10 to claim the match 3-2 (16-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-15, 16-10) in come-from-behind fashion.
 
Mary Underman turned in a fine performance in her finale match as a Falcon. The senior hit at a .536 clip with 17 kills on 28 swings. Kristin Seibert dished out 40 assists and picked up 12 digs for the double-double while a total of five Falcons recorded double-digit digs.
 
Messiah finishes the season with a 25-7 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the conference.
 
Falcons Jump Out To Lead
Messiah grabbed the momentum early in the match, picking up an early 9-4 lead. Mary Underman captained the run for the Falcons, recording two kills and two aces during the stretch. Arcadia fought back into the game after they produced a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 11-10.

The two teams battled back and forth throughout the middle part of the set, with the Falcons clinging to a one point lead at 17-16. Messiah then seized the momentum of the match with an 8-0 run to win the set 25-16. Natalie Marsch led the Falcons during the run with two kills to help the Falcons take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Falcons grabbed an 11-6 lead in set two. Messiah continued to hold the Knights at bay throughout the course of the game, extending their lead to 19-12. This gave the Falcons some breathing room before the Knights got to within five at 20-15. The Falcons were not going to allow a late Arcadia rally, winning the set 25-17 after a 5-2 stretch that was led by a pair of Kate Preudhomme kills. This gave Messiah a 2-0 lead in the match. Messiah hit an impressive .519 in the set.

Knights Fight Back
Arcadia started to find their rhythm in set three, taking a 13-8 lead. Preudhomme made it 13-9 after a kill before the Knights stretched their lead out to 17-9 thanks to a 4-1 rally lead by Shannon Ryan's two aces and a kill. Underman helped cut the Knights lead down to 18-13 after she recorded three kills and an ace.

The Falcons continued to work back into the set, making it 22-20 after a 7-4 stretch. Arcadia didn't give up the lead though, using a 3-2 run to hold off Messiah and win the game 25-22 to cut it to 2-1 in the match.

The Knights stormed out to a big 12-4 lead in set four, bringing the momentum of the match into their favor. They continued to hold off the Falcons throughout the set, and increased their lead to 20-9 late in the game. The Falcons made a 5-1 push to make the score 21-14. The Falcons couldn't make the comeback though, falling 25-15 after Arcadia used a 4-1 rally to tie the match up at 2-2. This set up a winner-take-all fifth set.

Heartbreaking Finish
This began what was the Falcons fourth five set match of the season. The Falcons and Knights were deadlocked at 9-9 in the set. A pair of Underman and Preudhomme kills led the Falcons during the stretch. The Knights then produced what proved to be the difference making 5-0 run to take a 14-9 lead. Lauren Enfield led the Knights streak with a pair of kills. The flurry proved to be too much for Messiah to overcome as they ultimately dropped the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.

Inside The Box Score
In what proved to be her final game as a Falcon, Mary Underman hit a remarkable .536 in the match while recording 17 kills. Heston Cowoski picked up 15 digs in her final match, leading the team. Five different Falcons picked up 10 or more digs in the contest.

Quick Takeaways
The Falcons end their season with a 25-7 overall record with a 6-2 mark in the MAC Commonwealth. Messiah had four players recognized as All-MAC Commonwealth with Amanda Dahlman also being named MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year. Dahlman received First-Team honors along with Mary Underman and Kristen Seibert while Payton Manwaring picked up Second-Team honors.