HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Messiah Women's Volleyball team traveled to Juniata College on Saturday, for a tri-match against Catholic University of America and the number five ranked Eagles of Juniata College. The Falcons swept their first match of the day, beating Catholic in three sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-22). Against Juniata College, the Falcons fell in three sets (25-17, 25-14, 25-16.
 
In match one, Messiah overcame an early deficit in the first set, winning in by five points. In set two, Messiah won nine of ten points in the middle of the set to help win the set comfortably, taking a two-set lead. In the third set, the teams traded the lead back and forth, but Messiah pulled away late to finish off the sweep. Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 16 kills on a .483 hitting percentage. Makenzie Adams had 12 kills and added eight digs. Cassidy Dell picked up a double-double, with 37 assists and 13 digs.
 
In match two, Juniata jumped out to early leads in the first two sets, winning both. In the third set, the teams battled early, before Juniata pulled away to take the set and the match. Makenzie Adams led the Falcons with six kills, while Cynthia Boller added five. Leah Youtzy had four blocks.
 
Up next, the Falcons host Albright College on Tuesday, October 14, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Match One: Messiah – 3, Catholic – 0
Set One
Sydney Wolfe got the day started for the Falcons with a kill, followed by a double block from Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry, with the match tied 2-2. Next, Adams tallied her first kill, but Catholic took a small lead, up 5-3. Cynthia Boller scored her first two kills of the day and Makenzie Adams added another, with the Falcons now up two, 8-6. Leah Youtzy picked up a solo block for Messiah, but Catholic won five of six points to take the lead back, 11-9. Messiah responded with their biggest run of the set, started by a double block from Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry, plus two kills from Quesenberry, with the Falcons up 13-11. Makenzie Adams added on another kill followed by three kills from Cynthia Boller, as Messiah extended the lead to five, at 18-13. The teams then traded points, with a service ace from Erin Eby keeping the Messiah lead at five, up 21-16. Leah Youtzy picked up a kill for the Falcons, but Catholic started to close the gap, down 22-20. However, three Catholic errors would give the set to Messiah, 25-20.
 
Set Two
Sydney Wolfe and Leah Youtzy combined for a double block, helping Messiah grab an early lead 2-0. Next, Youtzy added a kill, plus two kills from Katie Quesenberry and a service ace from Courtney Wolf, with the Falcons lead up to five, at 7-2. Makenzie Adams and Cynthia Boller got in on the action, combining for three kills, with Messiah up 10-6. Sydney Wolfe added her first kill of the set, but Catholic closed the gap to three, down 13-10. However, Messiah responded by winning nine of the next ten points. The ten-point sequence included four kills from Makenzie Adams, two kills from Katie Quesenberry, one kill from Sydney Wolfe, and two service aces from Courtney Wolf, with Messiah up 22-11. Katie Quesenberry added one more kill, and Cynthia Boller scored the last two points as Messiah wrapped up the set, winning 25-14.
 
Set Three
Catholic started the third set strong, jumping out to a quick 7-2 lead. Makenzie Adams and Cynthia Boller each tallied a kill to give some momentum to Messiah. Messiah would use that momentum to win six of the next seven points, with two more kills from Cynthia Boller and one from Leah Youtzy giving Messiah a 10-8 lead. Catholic responded with a run of their own, winning four straight points to take the lead back, 12-10. Messiah would respond well again, winning six of the next seven points, including two kills from Cassidy Dell, and one kill each from Julia Bowen, Leah Youtzy, and Cynthia Boller, with the Falcons up 16-13. Makenzie Adams tacked on another kill, but Catholic won four of five points to tie the set, 17-17. Adams tallied another kill, Cynthia Boller added two kills, and Cassidy Dell picked up a kill as the teams traded points, with Messiah up 22-21. The Falcons then finished the set and match with Cynthia Boller, Makenzie Adams, and Julia Bowen each adding one more kill as Messiah won the set, 25-22.
 
Stats
Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 16 kills on a .483 hitting percentage. Makenzie Adams had 12 kills and added eight digs. Cassidy Dell picked up a double-double, with 37 assists and 13 digs. Claire Marzolino had a team-high 15 digs. Courtney Wolf led Messiah with three service aces. Katie Quesenberry tallied seven kills with two blocks, while Leah Youtzy had four kills with three blocks.
 
Match Two: Messiah – 0, Juniata – 3
Set One
Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry each picked up an early kill for Messiah, but Juniata stormed out to an 8-2 lead. Adams added a second kill and Quesenberry combined with Cassidy Dell for a block, but the Eagles still held a large lead, up 11-4. However, the Falcons responded by winning eight of the next ten points, including two kills by Sydney Wolfe, a kill from Makenzie Adams, and five different Falcons combining for four blocks, with Messiah down just one, at 13-12. However, Juniata would control the rest of the set, holding Messiah to only five more points, taking the set 25-17.
 
Set Two
Katie Quesenberry tallied an early kill, but Juniata once again started the set on the front foot, taking a 13-4 lead. Quesenberry added a second kill and combined with Makenzie Adams for a block, but Juniata continued the pressure, leading 19-7. Messiah responded, winning six of nine points behind four kills from Cynthia Boller and a kill from Makenzie Adams. Sydney Wolfe added one final kill for Messiah, but Juniata took the set 25-14.
 
Set Three
Leah Youtzy scored a kill, and Julia Bowen added two kills as the teams traded points to an early 4-4 tie. Juniata started to pull away, but a Makenzie Adams kill kept the Eagles lead at just two points, up 8-6. Juniata then began to pull away, winning the next five points to make it 13-6. Messiah responded with a three-point run, with Cynthia Boller picking up a kill and adding double block alongside Leah Youtzy, with Messiah trailing 13-9. Julia Bowen scored her third kill of the set, but Juniata kept piling on the pressure, extending their lead to eleven points, at 24-13. Katie Quesenberry picked one last kill, but Messiah dropped the set 25-16, and the match three sets to zero.
 
Stats
Makenzie Adams led the Falcons with six kills, while Cynthia Boller added five. Leah Youtzy had four blocks. Katie Quesenberry had four kills and three blocks. Claire Marzolino had eight digs, and Cassidy Dell had eight digs plus 13 assists.
 
Up Next
The Falcons host Albright College on Tuesday, October 14, at 7:00 p.m.