GRANTHAM, Pa. - Messiah took down the Cabrini Cavaliers on Saturday morning in Hitchcock Arena in an exciting five-set match 3-2 (25-15, 26-28, 25-18, 14-25, 15-13). Messiah was led by senior
Mary Underman, who recorded a season-high 21 kills along with
Kristen Seibert's season-high 53 assists. In the afternoon tilt against Christopher Newport the Falcons fell in straight-sets 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 21-25).
Rachel Garratt led Messiah with seven kills in the match. Messiah returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Stevenson to take on the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m.
Messiah defeats Cabrini University 3-2 (25-15, 26-28, 25-18, 14-25, 15-13)
After Cabrini grabbed a 10-8 lead in set one, the Falcons took over the game from that point on. Leading the charge for Messiah were
Rachel Garratt and
Hailey Miller. Garratt rattled off five kills while Miller spun together three aces in what was a 17-5 Falcon run that gave them the victory in set one, 25-15.
Both team traded runs throughout game two and things were all-square at 25-25. The Cavaliers pushed ahead on a kill by Victoria Camacho before Messiah answered right back with a
Natalie Marsch kill. Cabrini snatched the set away from Messiah with two straight points, capped off by a Steph Judkins kill to win game two 28-26 and tie the match up at one set a-piece.
Both teams continued to be evenly matched in set three. With things tied 12-12, Messiah took control of the set. They went ahead by three after a 5-2 run to make the score 17-14. Underman recorded two kills during the Falcons run. Cabrini clawed their way back to within two at 20-18 before Underman recorded another pair of kills to spearhead a 5-0 run to give Messiah a 25-18 win in game three.
Cabrini used five kills from Katrina Shelly in set four to overpower Messiah 25-14 and force a winner-take-all set five. An exciting fifth game followed, as Messiah battled to a 12-10 lead with the help of four Underman kills and a pair of
Kate Preudhomme kills. After falling behind 14-11, Cabrini rattled off two straight points to make things interesting, but an Underman kill ended a match that saw her record a season-high 21 kills.
Rachel Garratt and
Kate Preudhomme both chipped in 13 kills during the match.
Messiah Falls to Christopher Newport 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 21-25)
Messiah fell behind the Captains early in the first set and weren't able to recover. They got to within two at 9-7, but CNU made it 14-7 after a 5-0 run. The Captains continued to run away with the game and went up 24-12. Messiah tried to get back into it with a 6-0 run, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Falcons fell 25-18 in game one.
Nothing was decided early in set two as both teams fought to a 15-15 tie. The Captains then stormed out to a set-winning 10-2 run that was led by a pair of kills from Riley Garrison.
After falling behind 8-5 early in set three, Messiah was able to work their way back to a one-point deficit at 20-19. The Falcons weren't able to close the gap though as Christopher Newport ended the match on a 5-2 run to give them a 3-0 match victory.
What's Up Next?
After six-straight home matches for Messiah, they will go on the road to Stevenson for a showdown with the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m.
