GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah women's volleyball team hosted the Marymount Saints Friday evening for their last home match of the season. It would be the Falcons prevailing in a thrilling five sets, winning the match 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-10). Sarah Hart led the team with 14 kills, while Senior Mackenzie Feight added another 12 on Senior Night. Emma Swartz tallied an impressive 32 assists for the Falcons. Messiah ended the regular season 21-7, and 5-2 in the conference.
The Falcons will enter the MAC Commonwealth tournament as the three seed, traveling to Stevenson University for a match against the No. 2 Mustangs. That match is set for Wednesday Nov 8 at 7:00 p.m.
How it Happened
The Falcons got off to a slow start, the Saints would jump to an early 9-5 lead. However, Messiah found their way back into the set going on a four point run to tie the set at 9-9. From that point on both teams were exchanging points until the very end. Mackenzie Feight, Anna Weldon, and Sarah Hart contributed with big kills and blocks. The Saints managed to take a late 23-21 lead but a smart Messiah timeout allowed the Falcons to respond scoring the last four points to win the opening set 25-23.
The second set was not kind to the Falcons as the Saints responded in a strong way. Messiah kept it close through the midway point, with the Saints holding on to a 15-12 lead. Katie Quesenberry, Feight and Hart continued to score for the Falcons. However, the Saints got it going late and managed to hold the Falcons to two more points the remainder of the match to win set two 25-15.
Messiah answered the second set loss with a dominant performance in set three. The Falcons jumped to a quick 5-0 lead, getting points from Cassidy Dell, and multiple Saint errors. The Falcons continued to score but the Saints were not going away quietly. Heading into the midway point of the set Messiah held a 15-14 lead. Following two attack errors from the Saints, the Falcons were able to capitalize off of many Saint errors, and kills from Weldon, Hart, Quesenberry, and Feight to win set three 25-18.
Entering a crucial fourth set, the Falcons found themselves in a close contest through the midway point. Following a Saint kill, Messiah was able to score six out of the next seven points to grab a 17-12 lead. However, Marymount responded in a big way, and rallied back to grab a late 21-18 lead. Despite the Falcons scoring points late, the Saints held off Messiah to win set four 25-22 to force a fifth set.
For the second time this season the Falcons were entering a fifth set. The Falcons scored a quick three points with kills from Feight, Weldon, and Quesenberry. However, the Saints fought back and took a 5-4 lead. Messiah did not show quit, rallying back to grab a 7-5 lead, needing just eight more points to win the set. After a couple hard fought points, the Falcons found themselves up 11-6 late in the set. Following a Falcon attack error, Messiah received two crucial points from Hart to force a Saint timeout up 13-7. The Saints would score three more points, but it would not be enough as the Falcons took the set five win 15-10, and the match 3-2 to end the regular season 21-7.
What's Up Next
Messiah will be on the road Wednesday Nov. 8 for a semifinal match up against the No. 2 Stevenson Mustangs. Start time is set for 7:00 p.m.
