GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah women's volleyball team will host the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen in the MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game on Monday evening on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m. with a trip to Wednesday's semifinal on the line. The Falcons earned the fourth seed in this week's MAC Commonwealth Tournament thanks to an 18-9 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the conference this season.
This is Messiah's fourth MAC Commonwealth Play-In Game that they have hosted since 2017. In the previous three, Messiah is 2-1.
Top-seeded Eastern University waits for the winner of Monday's Play-In Game with the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in St. David's, Pa.
Fans should note that since this is a Middle Atlantic Conference Postseason Tournament, tickets are required for all fans. The pricing for tickets are as follows: Adults: $6, Senior Citizens - $4, Students (valid ID) and Children - $2, Children under 6 – FREE.
For Monday's Play-In Game, the first 100 Messiah students with valid ID will be allowed to enter the match for FREE!
See below for a quick preview of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament field:
No. 4 Messiah University Falcons – 18-9 overall, 5-3 conference
The Falcons earned the fourth seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament thanks to a 5-3 record in the conference this season. Messiah earned a key 3-2 victory over Lebanon Valley on Sept. 7 to earn hosting duties in the Play-In Match. That victory was part of a nine-match winning streak for the Falcons at the start of the season. Messiah stole sets off of the other three teams in the Conference Tournament this season, showing that they can hang with anyone in the conference.
Players to Watch:
#13
Mackenzie Feight – 375 kills, 3.83 kills/set, .175 hitting %, 44 service aces, 306 digs, 3.12 digs/set
#9
Caitlin Lielbriedis – 247 kills, 2.57 kills/set, .171 hitting %, 23 service aces, 278 digs, 2.90 digs/set
#6
Emma Swartz – 79 kills, .214 hitting %, 852 assists, 8.69 assists/set, 68 service aces, 259 digs, 2.64 digs/set
No. 5 Lebanon Valley Dutchmen – 16-8, 4-4
Lebanon Valley qualified for the conference Championships for the first time since 2019 this season after carrying a 4-4 record in the conference. Led by Taylor McInerney, the Dutchmen have gone toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in the conference. In a big match last week against Widener, McInerney finished with 34 kills in a five-set loss to the Pride.
Players to Watch:
#4 Taylor McInerney – 416 kills, 38 service aces, 17 assists, .229 hitting %, 5.01 kills/set
#7 Ali Whitworth – 721 assists, 62 kills, 22 service aces, 197 digs, 24 total blocks
#16 Kasey Thomas – 227 digs, 58 assists, 13 service aces
When They Met
The Falcons edged out the Dutchmen in a reverse sweep, 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 15-13). As a team, Messiah hit .234 while holding the Dutchmen to a .193 hitting percentage.
Mackenzie Feight led the Falcons with 18 kills while
Emma Swartz had three service aces. For the Dutchmen, Taylor McInerney collected 32 kills and six service aces while hitting at a .290 hitting percentage.
No. 1 Eastern Eagles – 21-5, 8-0
The defending conference champion, Eastern Eagles earned the top seed in the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record in the conference this season. Eastern holds a 21-5 overall record and will host the winner of the Play-In Match on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. Led by Hannah Pringle, the Eagles offer a balanced attack with five different players finishing the year over 95 kills.
Players to Watch
#23 Hannah Pringle – 258 kills, 3.27 kills/set, .236 hitting %, 56 digs
#15 Bridgette Kelly – 164 kills, 1.95 kills/set, .328 hitting %, 39 service aces, 83 total blocks
#7 Elle Jiron-Bujanda – 835 assists, 9.49 assists/set, 96 kills, 195 digs, 36 total blocks
When They Met
The Falcons fell 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 29-31, 25-21) against the Eagles on Sept. 27 in St. Davids, Pa. Messiah hit .164 as a team while Eastern swung at a .244 clip.
Mackenzie Feight led Messiah with 20 kills and 18 digs while Hannah Pringle paced the Eastern offense with 19 kills in the match.
No. 2 Stevenson Mustangs – 24-4, 7-1
The Mustangs boast an impressive 24-4 overall record, but dropped two of their final three matches of the season including a 3-1 loss against Eastern on Oct. 25 to decide the top overall seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The Mustangs feature an offense that hits at a .230 clip with seven different players collecting triple-digit kills in the regular season.
Players to Watch
#7 Shannon Baily – 287 kills, 2.96 kills/set, .244 hitting %, 37 service aces, 250 digs, 2.58 digs/set, 51 total blocks
#20 Sarah Straub – 159 kills, 1.71 kills/set, .306 hitting %, 42 digs, 87 total blocks
#13 Kayla Vaeth – 429 digs, 4.47 digs/set, 93 assists, 18 kills
When They Met
The Falcons and Mustangs met last Thursday in the final match of the regular season for Messiah. In that meeting on Oct. 27, Stevenson earned a 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20) victory in a match that was tight throughout. Messiah held an early lead in every set, but the Mustangs fought back to win in four sets.
Rachel Rashford led Messiah with 17 kills while
Maddy Eby anchored the defense with 23 digs.
No. 3 Widener Pride – 13-13, 5-3
The Widener Pride earned the third seed thanks to a big conference victory over Messiah on Oct. 5. The Pride won that match 3-1 and as a result, earned the tie-breaker over the Falcons at the end of the season. Widener has been a bit of an up and down team, but after shaking off eight-straight loss to begin the season, finished the year by winning 13 of their final 18 matches.
Players to Watch
#8 Lilyanna Martucci – 229 kills, 2.54 kills/set, 26 service aces, 199 digs, 26 total blocks
#16 Abigail Herrin – 160 kills, .238 hitting %, 2.16 kills/set, 45 digs, 34 total blocks
#9 Megan Barthol – 802 assists, 8.44 assists/set, 40 kills, 298 digs, 3.14 digs/set, 16 blocks, 31 service aces
When They Met
As mentioned, the Pride earned a key 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 26-24) victory over Messiah in early October to clinch the tie breaker over the Falcons. Messiah hit .167 in the match, while the Pride hit .185.
Caitlin Lielbriedis and
Mackenzie Feight led the team with 19 kills while
Emma Swartz dished out 46 assists. Widener's Abigail Herrin finished with a team-high 11 kills while Megan Barthol had an impressive 36-assist, 24-dig double-double.
