GETTYSBURG, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team won their fourth straight match at the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic on Saturday, beating Salve Regina 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20) in match one and the host Gettysburg College 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-17). Leading the way for the Falcons in the first match was sophomore Natalie Marsch, who recorded 12 kills in the contest. Other top performers for Messiah included Kristen Seibert with 33 assists and Amanda Dahlman on defense with 14 digs. In match two, Lanae Hunsberger led the Falcons with 13 kills while Mary Underman was right behind her with 12. Seibert recorded 37 assists, which is a season high in this young season, with Dahlman also recording a season high of 22 digs.

Messiah is back in action next Saturday (Sep. 7) when they play in Grantham for the first time this season, hosting McDaniel College and Eastern University in a tri-match on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons play the Green Terror at 11:00 a.m. and the Eagles at 3:00 p.m.

Messiah defeats Salve Regina University 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20)

Set One
Messiah jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the early going of this set, with the help of a pair of kills from Natalie Marsch and Payton Manwaring. The Seahawks were able to cut the lead to four at 12-8 after three straight points, but the Falcons proceeded to win four of the next five rallies to extend their lead up to seven at 16-9.

Salve Regina was constantly fighting back all set, but the Falcons held strong thanks to a constant diet of kills from Marsch, Kate Preudhomme, Mary Underman, and Kristen Seibert. The balanced offense led Messiah to a 25-15 game one victory.

Set Two
Salve Regina moved out to a quick 4-0 lead in set two, thanks to three Falcons' errors. Messiah did not stay down long, going on a 10-4 run to take the lead at 10-8. After Salve Regina tied things up at 11-11 with a 3-1 run, the Falcons scored seven-straight to take an 18-11 lead. Preudhomme powered the Messiah run, recording three kills.

The Seahawks clawed their way back to within four at 18-14, as the Falcons committed three consecutive errors. That was as close as Salve Regina got as the duo of Marsch and Underman recorded two key kills each for Messiah as they were able to win game two 25-19.

Set Three
After trading four point runs to start off the set, the Falcons were able to put together an impressive 6-2 streak to grab the lead at 10-6. Messiah continued to control the game, holding a commanding 17-10 lead late in the set with the help of two Lanae Hunsberger kills. Salve Regina would not go down quite so easily though, which was a theme for them throughout the match.

The Seahawks soared to a 6-1 run with the help of three untimely errors from Messiah which made the score 18-16 and forced Messiah to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Salve Regina was able to inch closer to within one at 20-19. As she did all match long though, Marsch will able to help will the Falcons to a 4-0 run as she contributed a pair of key kills. Messiah was able to get the match-winning kill from senior Mary Underman, as the Falcons won set three 25-20.

Team Effort
It truly was a team affair for the Falcons in this one, with six players recording at least six kills. They will look to finish off the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic with an undefeated record if they are able to defeat Gettysburg College, with their match set for 2:00 p.m.

Messiah defeats Gettysburg College 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-17)

Set One

Both teams made 3-0 runs to start off the game tied at three. Both teams continued to trade points as it was 7-6 in favor of Messiah before the Falcons recorded four straight points. This forced the Bullets to call a timeout. Out of the timeout the Falcons scored their fifth straight point as Hunsberger capped off the Messiah run with a kill, giving them a 12-6 lead. Thanks to some Gettysburg attack errors, Messiah was able to build on their lead to make it 17-8.

Gettysburg didn't know what hit them in this set, as three late Underman kills led to a Falcons 25-12 game one win.

Set Two

The two teams traded blows at the beginning of this one, as both teams fought to a 6-6 tie. The Falcons then strung together five straight points, with three of them coming off Underman kills to move the game to 11-6. The Bullets were able to get themselves back in the set with the help of Messiah errors to move within three at 15-12.

The Falcons then soared to another 4-0 run, as they produced quick runs all day, with kills coming from the likes of Manwaring and Preudhomme to put them up seven at 19-12. Gettysburg was able to briefly get back within five before Messiah ran away with game two 25-16.

Set Three

The Falcons were able to claw out to an early 11-6 lead in set three before a Bullets timeout. Hunsberger led the charge with a pair of kills along with Marsch and Underman chipping in one kill. Coming out of the timeout, Gettysburg was able to go on a 7-5 run to get to within three points and force a Falcon timeout. Four different Bullets recorded a kill during the run.

Out of the timeout, Messiah went on a dominating 7-1 run that all but doomed Gettysburg chances in the set, as they fell behind 23-14. It was the Lanae Hunsberger show during this run as the senior recorded four straight kills. After two points from the Bullets, Hunsberger was at it again, recording two more kills to send the Falcons home with a 4-0 weekend at the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic. Hunsberger recorded six straight kills for Messiah and 13 in the match to lead the Falcons.

With their great performances over the weekend, senior Mary Underman and junior Kristen Seibert were named to the All-Tournament Team.

What's up next

After a great first weekend of the season, the Falcons will be back in action next Saturday (Sep.7) at home when they host a tri-match on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. They face off with McDaniel College at 11:00 a.m. and Eastern University at 3:00 p.m.

In their first match of the season on Friday, Messiah defeated McDaniel College 3-0 (25-10, 25-19, 25-14).