GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Messiah women's volleyball team continued their hot start to the 2022 season with two more victories in the Battlefield Invitational on Saturday. The Falcons beat Penn State Mont Alto 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-12, 25-16) after dropping the first set and Catholic University of America 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) to improve to 4-0 on the season.
Match One – Messiah defeats Penn State Mont Alto 3-1
After dropping a close first set, the Falcons didn't allow the Nittany Lions to score over 16 points in a set for the rest of the match, winning 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-12, 25-16).
Mackenzie Feight amassed 15 kills to lead Messiah in the contest. Along with Feight,
Caitlin Lielbriedis (11),
Anna Weldon (8), and
Chayney Barnhart (8) collected 42 of the Falcons 48 kills in the match.
With 35 assists,
Emma Swartz led the way for the Falcons.
Maddy Eby recorded the Falcons other three digs in the contest, and also topped the squad with 14 digs on the defensive end.
Mackenzie Feight (10),
Emma Swartz (7), and
Caitlin Lielbriedis (7) combined for 24 of Messiah's 45 digs in the match.
The Falcons crushed it at the service line, picking up 15 aces in the match.
Mackenzie Feight (6) and
Caitlin Lielbriedis (4) combined to rack up ten of the 15 by themselves.
Match Two – Messiah defeats Catholic University of America 3-0
Messiah rolled into its second match of the night on a hot streak, taking all three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-22) against the Cardinals. The Falcons improved to 4-0 on the season on the heels of a team-leading 11-kill performance from
Chayney Barnhart.
Mackenzie Feight (8 kills),
Caitlin Lielbriedis (7), and Anna Bowen (6) contributed solid nights on the attack as well.
Emma Swartz picked up her third 30-assist game of the weekend with 33 against the Cardinals. She also chipped in ten digs and joined
Maddy Eby (15) and
Mackenzie Feight (10) with double-digit digs in the match. The Falcons served well once again with seven service aces in the three-set match.
Up Next
The Falcons return to the floor on Wednesday, September 7 when they take on Lebanon Valley at home for their first conference matchup of the season.