UNION, N.J. - The Messiah women's volleyball team traveled to New Jersey on Saturday afternoon to take on Gordon College and Kean University. The Falcons were perfect on the day not giving up a single set in either match to improve to 18-6 on the season. Mackenzie Feight led the Falcons in match one with eight kills, while Sarah Hart picked up an impressive 15 kills in match two.
Messiah defeats Gordon - 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-17)
The Falcons opened up set one jumping to a quick 6-3 lead over the Fighting Scots. Multiple Falcon errors allowed the Fighting Scots to creep back into the game, tying it at 7-7. However, the Falcons got hot, and began to score points in bunches. Mackenzie Feight, Chayney Barnhart, Caitlin Lielbriedis all contributed in the Falcons scoring seven out of the next 10 to take a 14-9 lead. From that point on, the Falcons would only allow the Fighting Scots to score five more points the rest of the set. Messiah would end the set scoring six of the last eight points to win set one 25-14.
Heading into set two Messiah picked up where they left off, quickly grabbing a 7-2 lead. The Fighting Scots would capitalize off multiple Falcon errors, but the Falcons never took their foot off the gas. Messiah held a 10-8 lead when Feight and Barnhart took over, scoring five out of the next six Messiah points. Heading into the midway point the Falcons held a 16-11 lead. From then on the Falcons would dominate the rest of the way scoring points in bunches, including ending the game on a six point unanswered run. Messiah would take set two 25-13 and hold a 2-0 match lead.
Set three proved to be the toughest set for the Falcons as the Fighting Scots were not going to roll over. Gordon college competed early on, trading points back and forth with the Falcons. However, the Falcons took advantage of a couple Fighting Scot errors and three straight Maddy Eby aces to take a 8-5 lead. Gordon College continued to score, but Messiah always had an answer for them. Heading into the midway point the Falcons held a 15-12, but following a kill from Emma Swartz messiah would go on a six point run extending their lead to 21-12. Gordon managed to score points late however, it would not be enough as the Falcons took set three 25-17, completing the 3-0 match sweep.
Messiah defeats Kean - 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-22)
Set one was a competitive contest with neither team giving up a larger lead than four. Sarah Hart, Mackenzie Feight, and Chayney Barnhart opened the scoring for the Falcons. Following a Feight kill the Falcons found themselves tied with Kean at 10-10. Neither team was giving much ground, until the Falcons managed to open up a 18-14 lead late in the match. From that point on the Falcons capitalized on a six point run to take the first set 25-18.
Set two was a game of runs with both teams trading blows in big ways. Heading into the midway point the Messiah held a 12-10 lead. Following an attack error from Feight, the Falcons scored four straight to extend their lead to 16-11. The Cougars were not done, as they responded with a run of their own to cut the Messiah lead to 18-15. However, the Falcons stayed strong and held the Cougars to only two more points for the remainder of the set. Winning set two 25-17, and taking a 2-0 match lead.
Needing just one more win to complete the perfect 3-0 sweep, and improve to 6-0 on the day. The Cougars had other plans, in what proved to be the most competitive set of the day for the Falcons. Kean got out fast jumping to a quick 14-9 lead over the Falcons. Messiah managed to take advantage of two Cougar errors however, Kean would stay strong. and score four straight points. To grab their largest lead of the day at 18-11. Messiah was not done just yet, with the help of Feights two aces, Multiple Cougar errors, kills from Sarah Hart, and Barnhart the Falcons cut the Cougar lead to 21-17. Following a Hart kill, the Falcons never looked back, picking up momentum late, which carried them to taking their first lead of the set at 23-22. The Cougars tried to stall momentum with a timeout. However, it did not stop the Falcons from scoring the final two points to win the set 25-22, and complete the perfect 6-0 day.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action Tuesday, Oct 24 against conference opponent Albright for a Dig Pink Night in Hitchcock Arena. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m.
