ASTON, Pa. – The Messiah women's volleyball team split day two of the Neumann Invitational on Saturday evening, falling to Stockton 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 32-30, 25-21) and defeating Ursinus in a thrilling five-set match, 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-11, 15-11). With the split, Messiah moves to 7-2 on the season and will be back in action next weekend when they host the Messiah Invitational with their first match of the weekend against SUNY Brockport at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. 

Chayney Barnhart led the Falcons on the weekend, being named to the Neumann All-Tournament Team.
 
Stockton defeats Messiah - 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 32-30, 25-21)
To begin set one the Falcons would quickly jump to a 4-2 lead. From then both teams would trade points, until the Ospreys would string together an impressive 8-2 run. Stockton would take a 13-9 lead heading into the midway point. But the Falcons would respond, going on a five-point run of their own to retake a 14-13 lead. Sarah Hart, Katie Quesenberry, and Chayney Barnhart all contributing during the run. Stockton would score three straight points and stall the Falcons momentum. Messiah did not go away scoring five out of the next six to give them a 19-17 advantage. The Falcons continued to gather points, while the Ospreys did not go away making it a 22-21 Messiah lead. The Falcons would close it out with back-to-back kills from Cassidy Dell, and a Mackenzie Feight service ace to take set one 25-21.
 
Heading into set two Stockton grabbed a 6-5 lead early. From then both teams would trade points with neither squad surrender a lead bigger than two. Following a Stockton 10-8 lead Messiah would respond scoring seven out of the next eight points, on the back of Barnhart three kills, and a couple Osprey errors to grab a 14-11 lead. Stockton responded in a big way, as the Osprey scored the next six points to retake a 17-14 lead. The Falcons did manage to tie the game at 18, but the Ospreys would dominate the remainder of the set scoring seven out of the last nine points. Stockton would tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-20 set two win.
 
Set three began strong for the Falcons taking a 6-2 lead early on. Dell and Hart would continue to dominate the scoring for Messiah. but the Ospreys took advantage of multiple Falcon errors bringing the score to 10 a piece. From then on both teams would trade points throughout the match, neither giving much ground with Messiah holding a 20-19 lead. Stockton grabbed a late 25-24 lead needing to win by two, but the Falcons continued to answer. Unfortunately, it would not be enough as the Ospreys got the better of the exchanges to win the set 32-30 and take a 2-1 match lead.
 
Set four looked to be a tight one early on as both teams traded points knotted at six a piece. But the Ospreys scored seven out of the next eight points to take a commanding 14-7 lead. Messiah recovered well going on to score six out of the next seven to bring the score to within one. The remainder of the match would remain close, but it would be Stockton who would prevail, winning the set 25-20 and taking the 3-1 match win.

Messiah defeats Ursinus - 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-11, 15-11)
Messiah came out swinging to open set one grabbing a quick 10-6 lead. Mackenzie Feight, Katie Quesenberry, and Cassidy Dell all would score points early on. The Falcons would extend their lead to 15-12 through the midway point of set one, but the Bears would respond. Ursinus would go on to score seven out of the next nine points to grab a 19-17 lead. From that point on the Bears would not give up another lead dominating the scoring to take set one 25-23. 

Both teams began set two in a strong way, exchanging points as the Falcons would grab a 9-8 lead early on. But the Falcons would open up the scoring going on to score six out of the next seven points to take a 15-9 lead. From then on both teams would continue to trade points, Chayney Barnhart, Dell, and Feight doing most of the damage for the Falcons. It would be Messiah getting the better of the exchanges to tie the match up at 1-1 with a 25-19 set two win. 

Set three opened up again with both teams scoring well, with the Bears grabbing an early 8-7 lead. But Messiah would answer, scoring six out of the next seven points to regain a 13-9 lead through the midway point. It would be a set filled with runs as Ursinus would answer with one of their own. The Bears would go on to score 12 out of the next 16 points, bringing their lead to 21-17. From that point on Ursinus would not look back to take set three 25-18, and a 2-1 match lead. 

The Falcons would respond well in set four, jumping out to an 11-5 lead. Following an Ursinus service error, the Falcons would not look back going on to score 8 of the next 11 points, bringing their lead to a commanding 19-8. After a quick two points from the Bears, the Falcons would score six out of the last seven points, on the back of Barnhart, Lielbriedis, and multiple Ursinus errors to win the set 25-11. Tying the match at 2-2, extending the match to a fifth set. 

Messiah could not have asked for a better start to set five, jumping to a quick 5-1 lead. Emma Swartz, Feight, and Dell all scoring early on for the Falcons. But the Bears would answer in a big way, going on a seven point run to take a 8-5 lead. Following a quick point exchange from both teams, the Falcons would get the last laugh. Scoring eight out of the last 10 points to win the set 15-11, and take the overall 3-2 match win. 

What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action next weekend for the Messiah Invitational. The Falcons will welcome three teams to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena with matches across Friday night and all day Saturday. Messiah will take on SUNY Brockport on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before squaring off with Gettysburg at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and Rowan later in the day at 5:00 p.m.