GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team hosted the University of Mary Washington Eagles on Friday night, kicking off Messiah's homecoming weekend with a win in three sets (25-17, 25-19, 25-20).
 
In set one, the Falcons built a lead early and maintained it throughout set, winning comfortably. Messiah continued the momentum to start the second set, taking another early lead. The Eagles fought back to close the gap, but Messiah responded well to take the set, 25-19. Messiah started out strong in the third set as well, jumping out to an eight-point lead. The Eagles responded to tie the match halfway through the set, but Messiah regained the momentum, taking the set and the match. Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 14 kills. Makenzie Adams had 11 kills and picked up seven digs. Cassidy Dell had 30 assists.
 
Up next, the Falcons resume conference play at Hood College on Wednesday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Set One
Mary Washington took a 2-0 lead to start the match, but Messiah responded quickly after back-to-back service aces from Leah Youtzy, taking a 4-2 lead. Katie Quesenberry and Sydney Wolfe followed up with two straight double blocks to extend the Falcon lead to four. The Eagles stopped the run, but Makenzie Adams quickly tallied her first three kills of the match to make it 9-4, Messiah. Cynthia Boller got in on the offensive attack next, picking up two kills to extend the Messiah lead to seven, at 12-5. Cassidy Dell dropped in a service ace and Sydney Wolfe picked up two kills, as the Falcons maintained the seven point lead throughout the middle of the set with the score at 18-11. Courtney Wolf followed up with a service ace to give Messiah their biggest lead of the set, at 19-11. Katie Quesenberry tallied two kills and Leah Youtzy added one, but Mary Washington began to close the gap, with the Falcon lead back down to seven points, at 22-15. Messiah responded well, with Cynthia Boller picking up another kill, and Boller and Leah Youtzy combining for a block to win the set, 25-17.
 
Set Two
A Makenzie Adams kill, and multiple Eagles errors helped Messiah jump out to a 5-1 lead to start the set. Adams added another kill and Katie Quesenberry picked up her first kill of the set, with the Messiah lead still at four, at 7-3. Next, Cynthia Boller entered the set and quickly scored three kills, followed by a kill from Leah Youtzy, making it 12-5 Messiah. Mary Washington responded with a four-point run, before Cynthia Boller picked up her fourth kill of the set to give the serve back to Messiah. Sydney Wolfe and Makenzie Adams each picked up a kill, followed by Wolfe and Katie Quesenberry combining for a block, with Messiah now leading by eight, at 19-11. Katie Quesenberry added another kill, and Cynthia Boller picked up four more kills, as the Falcons finished out the set, winning 25-19.
 
Set Three
Makenzie Adams and Sydney Wolfe each picked up kills as the Falcons won the first four points of the set. The Eagles won the next point to make it 4-1, but Messiah responded with another four-point run thanks to a Katie Quesenberry kill and two straight double blocks from Quesenberry and Cassidy Dell, making it 8-1. Quesenberry quickly picked up another kill, followed by a kill from Cynthia Boller to make it 11-3, Messiah. Boller picked up another kill, but Mary Washington started to gain some momentum, with the Falcons leading 14-6. Mary Washington used that momentum to storm back into the set, winning eight straight points to tie the set at 14. Makenzie Adams helped the Falcons respond well, tallying three kills in six points to regain the lead at 19-15. Adams then picked up a service ace, and the Eagles added a few errors to get Messiah within two points of winning the match, up 23-18. Cynthia Boller got her final kill of the match to make it 24-18 and was quickly followed by Sydney Wolfe picking up the final kill of the match, with Messiah winning the set 25-20, and the match three sets to zero.
 
Stats
Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 14 kills. Makenzie Adams had 11 kills and picked up seven digs. Cassidy Dell had 30 assists. Katie Quesenberry had five blocks, while Leah Youtzy added two blocks and two service aces. Sydney Wolfe added six kills and three blocks. Erin Eby tallied seven digs, with Courtney Wolf and Claire Marzolino picking up six digs each.
 
Up Next
The Falcons resume conference play at Hood College on Wednesday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m.