GRANTHAM, Pa. – Messiah women's volleyball won their first conference match of the season in dominant fashion against the visiting Hood Blazers on Wednesday night in straight sets, 3-0 (25-8, 25-17, 25-14). Freshman
Rachel Rashford led the charge for the Falcons on offense recording a career high 22 assists.
The win tonight pushes Messiah to 7-0 (1-0) on the season heading into this weekend's tournament on Friday and Saturday on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons will welcome the Knights of Calvin University on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. showdown. Messiah then squares off with the Cabrini Cavaliers and Christopher Newport Captains on Saturday, taking on Cabrini at 10:00 a.m. and Christopher Newport at 4:00 p.m.
Combined Effort For The Falcons
Messiah began this one on fire, jumping out to a 13-3 lead with a well-balanced Falcon attack.
Mary Underman,
Natalie Marsch, and
Payton Manwaring recorded a pair of kills during the run. The Falcons had nine players record a kill in the match. Hood was not able to get anything going in the first set, as the Falcons went on a 10-1 run to close out the game at 25-8.
The Blazers were able to take a 6-4 lead at the beginning of game two before Messiah grabbed the momentum with a 7-2 run to make it 11-8.
Lanae Hunsberger,
Mary Underman, and
Payton Manwaring all recorded a kill during the run. Hood battled back to within one at 15-14 before Messiah ran away with a 10-3 run that was steered by Manwaring and Hunsberger's three kills a-piece. This gave the Falcons the game at 25-17 and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Messiah freshman
Rachel Garratt recorded three service aces and a kill in set three to drive the Falcons to a 15-5 lead. Messiah recorded a season-high 10 service aces in the match. Hood got to within four after two Tailyn Kite kills spearheaded a 5-0 Blazers run to make it 17-13. That was as close as the Blazers were able to get as Messiah closed out the game on an 8-1 run to take the set 25-14 and the match 3-0.
What's Up Next?
The Falcons host the Messiah Invitational Friday and Saturday in Grantham. Messiah takes their seven-game winning streak into Friday night when they face-off with last season's national runner-up, Calvin University at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons will play Saturday against Cabrini University at 10:00 a.m. and Christopher Newport University at 4:00 p.m.
