GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team continued their strong start in MAC Commonwealth play, taming the Lions of Albright College on Tuesday night in four sets (25-20, 21-25, 25-11, 25-9).
 
Messiah started the first set well, keeping the lead throughout, and taking the set comfortably. In set two, Messiah jumped out to a big lead halfway through, but Albright stormed back to take the set, tying the match at one set each. The Falcons responded well, dominating the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Messiah kept the momentum up in the fourth set, cruising to a 25-9 set win, giving the Falcons the match in four sets. Makenzie Adams had a double-double for the Falcons with 14 kills and 18 digs. Cynthia Boller had 10 kills, while Leah Youtzy had eight kills with five service aces and four blocks.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Reading, Pa. for a matchup against Penn State Berks on Friday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Set One
The Messiah offense started out strong, with kills from Makenzie Adams, Sydney Wolfe, and Katie Quesenberry forcing an early Albright timeout, with Messiah up 5-0. Albright got their first point out of the timeout, but another kill from Katie Quesenberry helped Messiah extend the lead to six, at 7-1. The Lions started to find their footing after a few Falcon errors, closing the gap to three, with Messiah up 10-7. Leah Youtzy tallied her first kill of the match followed by a block from Youtzy and Sydney Wolfe to restore the Messiah lead to five, up 12-7. However, Albright responded with three straight points to force a Messiah timeout. After the timeout, Sydney Wolfe and Makenzie Adams each grabbed a kill, and Katie Quesenberry added two more to her total to help Messiah start to pull away, up 20-14. Julia Bowen tallied a kill followed by three kills from Leah Youtzy, and a final kill from Makenzie Adams to close out the set, with Messiah winning 25-20.
 
Set Two
The teams traded points early to a 3-3 tie, with Katie Quesenberry picking up a kill for the Falcons. Julia Bowen tallied three kills, and Leah Youtzy added a kill, but the score remained close, with Messiah up 9-8. Messiah then began to take over, winning eight of the next nine points behind two kills from Sydney Wolfe, a kill from Makenzie Adams, a kill from Katie Quesenberry, and one service ace each from Hannah Thomas and Leah Youtzy. Down 16-9, Albright called a timeout and won the first five points out of the timeout to make it 16-14, forcing Messiah to take a timeout of their own. Makenzie Adams tallied a kill quickly after the timeout, but Albright continued to battle, tying the set 17-17. A string of Albright errors and a Julia Bowen kill gave Messiah the lead back, at 21-18, but Albright won the last seven points to take the set.
 
Set Three
Kills from Makenzie Adams and Hannah MacCartney, plus two straight service aces from Leah Youtzy gave the Falcons a quick 5-1 lead. Cynthia Boller scored two kills and Claire Marzolino dropped in a service ace as Messiah maintained their lead, up 9-5. Messiah continued the pressure with a double block from Hannah MacCartney and Leah Youtzy, followed by two kills each from Youtzy and Cynthia Boller. Boller and Youtzy then combined for a block to make it 15-5, Messiah. Makenzie Adams and Cynthia Boller each added two more kills as Messiah continued their strong play, leading 22-11. Two Albright errors were followed by a kill from Leah Youtzy to give Messiah the set, 25-11.
 
Set Four
Leah Youtzy and Hannah MacCartney combined for a block to start the fourth set, followed by a service ace from Hannah Thomas. Messiah kept the momentum, winning eight of the next 11 points to take a commanding lead early behind kills from Hannah MacCartney, Katie Quesenberry, and Makenzie Adams, plus two service aces from Leah Youtzy and a block from Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry. Makenzie Adams picked up three more kills as Messiah continued to pile on the pressure, forcing an Albright timeout with the Falcons up 14-4. The Falcons refused to let up, with two more kills from Cynthia Boller and one kill each from Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry extending the lead to 14, at 19-5. The Falcons finished the set quickly, with two more kills from Cynthia Boller and two service aces from Cassidy Dell giving the Falcons the set, 25-9, and the match.
 
Stats
Makenzie Adams had a double-double for the Falcons with 14 kills and 18 digs. Cynthia Boller had 10 kills, while Leah Youtzy had eight kills with five service aces and four blocks. Cassidy Dell had 43 assists and nine digs. Claire Marzolino picked up 16 digs, while Hannah Thomas had 14 digs. Julia Bowen added five kills.
 
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Reading, Pa. for a matchup against Penn State Berks on Friday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m.