GRANTHAM, Pa - The Messiah women's volleyball team hosted top seeded Eastern University in this conference matchup. The Eagles prevailed pulling off a tough earned 3-0 sweep over the Falcons (25-22, 27-25, 25-20). Mackenzie Feight led the team with 10 kills, while Emma Swartz tallied 20 assists on the night. Messiah falls to 13-6 on the season and 2-2 in the conference with the loss.
 

How It Happened
Eastern came out the gate storming, jumping to an early 12-5 lead. However, the Falcons would inch their way back into the set, managing to put some points together. Chayney Barnhart, Katie Quesenberry, and a couple Eagle errors would allow the Falcons to cut the lead to 17-12. Eagles would continue to gather points; however, Messiah was not going away easily. Battling back late to cut the Eastern lead to three, with the score sitting at 22-19, a Falcon error would stall momentum and allow the Eagles to take set one 25-22. 
 
Heading into set two, Messiah would again surrender an early 10-4 lead. The Falcons continued to play tough, taking advantage of multiple Eagle errors, and getting kills from Barnhart, Sarah Hart, and Mackenzie Feight bringing the score to 11-8. From that moment on both teams would be in a stalemate, with neither giving in. Both Messiah and the Eagles would exchange leads throughout the remainder of the set. Emma Swartz, Feight, Quesenberry, and Barnhart continued to lead the way for the Falcons. A late Feight kill tied the score at 25-25 however, the Eagles would not allow another Falcon point scoring the last two, taking the set 27-25. 
 
Similarly, to the first two sets the Falcons would fall behind early. The Eagles grabbed a quick 5-1 advantage, leading to a Messiah timeout. Following the timeout, the Falcons would string together multiple points tying the set at 11. However, it would be all Eagles for the rest of the way. The Falcons fought hard late, managing to cut the Eastern lead to 20-18, but it would not be enough as the Eagles took set three 25-20 completing the 3-0 sweep on the road. 
 
What's Up Next:
The Falcons will be back in action Saturday Oct 14. They will take on New Jersey City University and Misericordia University in the Cougar Tri-Match. First match is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.