SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Messiah women's volleyball team earned a pair of victories on Saturday afternoon to improve to 3-0 on the young season. The Falcons dispatched of SUNY Oneonta, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-13) before closing out the weekend with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20) victory over Susquehanna.
 
Mackenzie Feight led the Falcons with 27 kills on the afternoon between the two matches, while Cassidy Dell finished the Susquehanna match with 17 digs and 20 assists. For her play on the weekend, Feight was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player while Cassidy Dell was also named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
Messiah defeats SUNY Oneonta - 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-13)
The Falcons quickly began set one down 3-1. Sarah Hart would score two kills for the Falcons to tie the match at three apiece. Following a quick point from the Red Dragons, Messiah would answer with a five-point run to take a commanding 9-4 lead in the middle of set one. The Red Dragons would respond with a four-point run of their own, cutting the Messiah lead down to just one at 9-8. But the Falcons would not look back, scoring five of the next six points led by Anna Weldon's two kills, a Katie Quesenberry kill, and a service ace from Maddy Eby. After two points from the Red Dragons, the Falcons would proceed to score 11 out of the last 15 points with help from an Emma Swartz ace, Caitlin Lielbriedis kill, and two Red Dragon service errors. After two Chayney Barnhart kills, Mackenzie Feight would go on to score four straight service aces to win the first set, 25-13.
 
Messiah would get off to a quick score 3-0 lead to begin set two. From that point on the match would be competitive as both teams would trade points up until the 12-10 mark. Messiah would again get hot as they rattle off five-straight points off a Hart kill, a Red Dragon service error, two service aces from Barnhart, and a kill from Quesenberry. Oneonta would get three out of the next four points but that would be all they get for the rest of the set. The Falcons would finish set two with a seven-point run on the back of Caitlin Lielbriedis' four service aces along with kills from Quesenberry and Feight.
 
Set three would start similarly to set two with both teams in a back-and-forth affair, trading points. Leading 12-10 at the midway point the Falcons would follow up the trend of the day going on another four-point run. From that point on, the Falcons would score in bunches to finish the game led by kills and services aces from Feight and multiple Red Dragon attack errors to cap off the 3-0 sweep with a set score of 25-13.

Messiah defeats Susquehanna - 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20)
In their final match of the weekend, Messiah would jump out to a quick 5-2 lead. But the River Hawks would not go away, clawing their way back into a 6-6 game. Both teams would trade points throughout the course of the set with no team extending their lead past three. The Falcons would find a way to pull one out, scoring six of the last ten points. Messiah would take advantage of multiple River Hawk point errors and kills from Sarah Hart, Mackenzie Feight, Cassidy Dell, and Chayney Barnhart to take set one, 25-21.
 
Messiah would get going early to begin set two, jumping to a 4-1 lead. The River Hawks would find their way back into the game, staying close with the Falcons and even capturing a 19-16 lead late in the set. But the Falcons would persevere and answer in dominate fashion. Messiah scored the last nine points to take the set 25-19 and a 2-0 lead in the match. Feight, Weldon, and Hart would do most of the damage in set two.
 
In the third set, both teams would exchange blows, but the River Hawks would get the better of the Falcons scoring in bunches throughout the set. The Falcons would manage to go on little runs but could never get a hold of a lead. After following a five-point run from the River Hawks, Susquehanna needed just one point to take the set. The Falcons would respond with a four-point run of their own, but it would not be enough as Susquehanna would end the set with a kill and take the set from the Falcons by a 25-23 score.
 
Despite dropping their first set of the season, Messiah would not lose confidence heading into set four as they quickly grab ahold of a 5-2 lead. Hart and Feight would dish out multiple kills for the Falcons. The River Hawks would take a 10-8 lead heading into the middle of the set. Messiah would not go away, scoring in bunches throughout the remainder of the set, including two separate three-point runs. The Falcons took a 24-16 lead following a four-point run, but Susquehanna would fight back scoring four unanswered points to pull within four at 24-20. That would be all the River Hawks would get as Barnhart would finish it off with a kill to win the set 25-20 and clinch a 3-0 weekend for the Falcons at the Susquehanna Tournament.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 6 when they play their first home match of the season against Elizabethtown College on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m.