GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team rebounded well after a sweep last night against No. 11 Juniata with two sweeps of their own over SUNY Brockport, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16), and Mary Washington, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 27-25). With the victories the Falcons improve to 9-6 overall on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Alvernia for a conference match against the Golden Wolves at 7:00 p.m.

Match One - Messiah defeats SUNY Brockport - 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16)
As mentioned, the Falcons picked up a sweep of their own against the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles on Saturday morning to begin day two of the Messiah Invitational. The Falcons picked up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-16) victory with Caitlin Lielbriedis and Mackenzie Feight both going for double-digits kills in the match with 14 and 10, respectively. Amanda Dahlman led the defensive effort with 17 digs while Kristen Seibert dished out nine assists a set for 27 total in the match.

The Golden Eagles seemed to have the better start in the opening set, taking leads of 6-4 and 9-6 early. With SUNY Brockport holding a 13-10 lead, Messiah went on a 4-0 run thanks to a pair of kills from Lielbriedis. That run turned into a 9-3 run with kills from Seibert, Feight, and Rachel Rashford just a few points later. With Messiah now in the driver's seat the Golden Eagles attempted to comeback. They pulled within one on two occacisions at 19-18 and 20-19, but that was as close as they could get. Messiah hung on, claiming the set 25-22 with Chayney Barnhart picking up the final point on a kill.

The second set was nearly identical to the first, with SUNY Brockport taking an early lead and the Falcons having to claw back late. In the second, Messiah's run came a little later. With the Golden Eagles leading 17-14, Messiah rattled off four-straight and six of the next seven to take a 20-18 lead. SUNY Brockport would not go down quietly, as they tied the set at 21-21, 22-22, and 23-23 before Caitlin Lielbiedis picked up back-to-back kills to close out the set in Messiah's favor at 25-23. The set victory gave the Falcons a 2-0 lead heading to the third.

Hailey Miller put together a stellar run in the early portion of the third set from the service line to change the script from the opening set. Miller recorded back-to-back aces while keeping the Golden Eagles out of system as the Falcons flipped a 6-3 deficit into a 10-6 lead they would not give up. Miller's service run sparked a 15-3 Messiah run in the third to take any chance of a comeback away from SUNY Brockport. The Falcons went on to claim the set 25-16, a sizable margin after winning the first two sets by just five combined points.

Match Two - Messiah defeats Mary Washington - 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 27-25)
The Falcons continued their excellent play with a sweep of the Mary Washington Eagles in the final game of the afternoon on Saturday. The Falcons won 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 27-25) to claim their ninth win on the season.

In the first set the Falcons jumped out to a 16-8 lead and never looked back as the Eagles would only get within three at 19-16. Messiah pulled away in the first set winning 25-18 on the back on 16 team kills.

Much would remain the same in the second set, as Messiah again jumped out to a 16-8 lead and then a 19-10 advantage. After three quick points from the Eagles, the Falcons won the last six points to claim the second set 25-13. As well as set number one, Messiah had 16 team kills in the second set.

The third set went back and forth with multiple lead changes until Messiah held a 19-16 lead. Mary Washington won five straight points to go up 21-19, and then proceeded to win three of the next four to take a 24-20 lead. Off a timeout, the Falcons won four points to even it at 24, before Mary Washington won the next point to go up 25-24. Finally, the Falcons won the last three points to close out the set 27-25 and win the match.

Stats
Just as she did in the first match of the day, Mackenzie Feight was a key piece of the Falcons' attack, picking up 14 kills. Tatum Oakley was close behind with 12 kills of her own in the match with Mary Washington while Rachel Rashford tallied nine kills.

Kristen Seibert totaled 36 assists and two service aces while Amanda Dahlman had a team high 20 digs in the match.

What's Up Next
Saturday's two sweeps bumped the Falcons' overall record to 9-6 overall this season. The Falcons will be back into conference play on Tuesday when they travel to Reading to take on the Alvernia Golden Wolves at 7:00 p.m. Messiah owns a 2-1 record in the MAC Commonwealth this season.