GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah women's volleyball team dropped its first match of the Messiah Invitational to Juniata College, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16), Friday night in Hitchcock Arena. Kristen Seibert led the Falcons in assists (18) as Mackenzie Feight contributed a team-high eight kills.
 
The Falcons, playing in the first of their three matches of the weekend, faced a formidable opponent in Juniata College. Entering the match with an 8-1 record, the visitors jumped out to a slim 6-5 advantage in the opening set. Messiah took advantage of five errors from the Eagles in their first seven points of the set. The Falcons took their first advantage of the set, 10-9, when Feight connected on a swing from a quality set by Seibert. The remainder of the game proved to be back-and-forth action between the two sides. Messiah and Juniata continued to trade points, knotted up at 17-17, before the Eagles rattled off five-consecutive points to prompt a Falcons timeout. Trailing, 22-17, Messiah won four of the next seven points, but it was not enough as Juniata earned the first set, 25-21. In the set, Seibert dished out a team-high seven assists as the Falcons had five different players record kills.
 
Trailing the Eagles in the match, 1-0, Messiah looked to rebound in the second set. Rachel Rashford got the Falcons on the board with her first kill of the match, leveling the set at 1-1. Level at 3-3, Juniata used a 6-1 scoring run to earn a 9-4 advantage. The visitors continued to capitalize on their offensive momentum, jumping out to a 15-6 edge. Messiah had a strong answer after a timeout, tallying four-straight points to cut the deficit to five points (15-10). Feight started the scoring rally with a kill while Seibert followed with the Falcons' third service ace of the match. With a firm advantage over the hosts, the Eagles held Messiah at bay throughout the remainder of the set. Creeping within a four-point deficit (20-16) after a kill from Chayney Barnhart, Messiah rode a spurt of offensive momentum. The Falcons used a 4-0 scoring run at set point to make the score 24-22, urging Juniata to spend a timeout. An Eagles attacking error following the timeout trimmed the Messiah deficit to just one (24-23), but Juniata closed out the set, 25-23, with Aly Reardon's seventh kill of the match. Despite fighting hard, Messiah trailed the Eagles entering the third set, 2-0.
 
In identical fashion to the second set, Rashford began the Falcons' third set scoring with perfectly-placed kill along the sideline. Rashford's kill was her fifth of the match, the second-highest mark for Messiah. Leading the Eagles early in the set, 3-2, Juniata rode a 7-0 scoring run to establish a 9-3 lead. Juniata continued to build on its advantage as the Falcons cut the deficit to six (17-11) on a successful swing from Caitlin Lielbriedis. Rashford notched another kill to up her total to a team-leading seven kills, making the score 18-12. Despite strong offensive contributions, Messiah was unable to muster a comeback, dropping the set, 25-16, and the match, 3-0.
 
The loss drops Messiah's overall record to 7-6 ahead of a day full of competition for Day Two of the Messiah Invitational.
 
What's Up Next
Messiah will return to the court tomorrow morning when it continues its play in the Messiah Invitational. The Falcons will square off with SUNY Brockport at Hitchcock Arena at 10:00 a.m. and will wrap up Day Two of the competition with a match against the University of Mary Washington at 4:00 p.m.