GRANTHAM, PA - The Messiah women's volleyball team overpowered the Haverford Fords in their first game of a tri-match on Saturday morning by a 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-18) sweep. Despite a closely fought first set, The Falcons pivoted to control the remainder of the match in the last two sets to earn their 16th win of the 2022 campaign.
Mackenzie Feight served as the spark for the Falcon's offense, tallying a total of 16 kills during the match. In the second match of the day, The Falcons won 3-1 over Arcadia for another win on the afternoon, making their total 17 on the season.
Messiah moves to 17-6 on the season and will be back in action on Wednesday where they will square-off against the Alvernia University Golden Wolves at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
Messiah defeats Haverford – 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-18)
The Falcons and the Fords battled back and forth during the first set, tying the score seven different occasions during the frame. Towards the end of the set, the momentum shifted back and forth, first for the Falcons who scored three consecutive times to make the score 21-20. Quickly thereafter, the Fords earned three consecutive tallies of their own, placing Messiah at a 24-22 deficit. Nonetheless, The Falcons ended the set with four consecutive tallies to win the first set by a score of 26-24, thanks in part to 7 and 6 kills from
Caitlin Lielbriedis and
Mackenzie Feight, respectively.
In the second, carrying forth their momentum from the previous set, The Falcons jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. However, the Fords would not go down easy as they went on a 4-1 run to bring them within one, at a sore of 5-4. Later in the set, with the score favoring The Falcons 14-11, Messiah amassed nine consecutive points to work towards a decisive second set victory, the score 22-11. Even though The Falcons maintained a healthy lead within the set, the Fords went on a 5-0 tear of their own to bring the score to 23-17. The Fords were unable to continue their momentum as the Falcons ended the match by a score of 25-17 with kills by
Mackenzie Feight and
Anna Weldon.
In the final set, while held closely early, Messiah was able to find a six-point succession giving them the advantage by a score of 11-6. Despite allowing the Fords to even the match at 14, and again at 18, Messiah immediately overpowered the Fords with seven straight tallies, featuring kills by
Chayney Barnhart and
Caitlin Lielbriedis, as well as two service aces by
Rachel Garratt.
Messiah earned the sweep against the Haverford Fords thanks to 46 kills out of 109 attempts, with just 10 hitting errors.
Mackenzie Feight led the scoring with 16 kills during the match, and
Emma Swartz bolstered the team's scoring with 32 total assists.
Dena Rovito contributed defensively, finishing the match with 19 digs, leading two Falcons who also tallied double-digit digs.
Messiah defeats Arcadia – 3-1 (25-10, 22-25, 25-12, 25-23)
The Falcons needed very little time to get back into a rhythm. Junior
Mackenzie Feight, who finished the set with 6 kills on 11 swings, and sophomore
Emma Swartz, who collected 13 assists and a service ace, connected on several plays and helped lead the Falcons to a first set win. In the first set, the team tallied 14 kills, 4 service aces, and used a strong defensive performance, in large part to first year libero
Dena Rovito, to take the first set 25-10.
The second set was much different for the Falcons, mostly because of the improved play of the visiting Knights. Outside hitter Nicole Dallara and outside hitter Michelle Frank combined for 19 kills in the match, with many coming in the second set. This back and forth affair had three ties and several lead changes, but ultimately closed with the Knights taking the set 25-22.
After the second set, the Falcons again found their rhythm. This time, they would not be denied the victory. They collected 13 kills in the third and 15 in the fourth to finish out the game. The Falcons finished the match with 58 kills, 55 assists, and 14 service aces. Feight led the team with 23 kills while Swartz led the team in assists with 47. Rovito tacked on a team high 24 digs.
Up Next
The win brings their record to 17-6 on the year and they will be back in action Wednesday night when they take on the visiting Alvernia University Golden Wolves at 7 PM.
