GRANTHAM, Pa. – Messiah Women's Volleyball were back at home on Thursday night, welcoming the River hawks of Susquehanna University to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena, falling in a five-set thriller (22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-13, 9-15).
 
In the first two sets, the squads battled closely before Susquehanna took late leads, grabbing a two-set advantage in the match. Messiah responded with a dominant third set, forcing a fourth set in the match. Messiah kept up the momentum rolling into the fourth set, winning with ease to force a deciding fifth set. The teams traded points early in the fifth set, but Susquehanna rolled late, winning the set and the match. Makenzie Adams and Cassidy Dell both had double-doubles for Messiah, with Adams having 16 kills and 16 kills, while Dell had 47 assists and added 23 digs.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Alvernia University to conclude the MAC Commonwealth regular season on Wednesday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Set One
Susquehanna started the match with three straight service aces, forcing a Messiah timeout. The Falcons came out of the timeout rejuvenated, going on a six-point run, including kills from Leah Youtzy, Katie Quesenberry, Sydney Wolfe, and Makenzie Adams. This forced a River hawks timeout, and they responded with their own six-point run, leading 9-6. Makenzie Adams and Erin Eby each added kills for the Falcons, but the Susquehanna lead grew to five, at 15-10. Sydney Wolfe added a kill and Leah Youtzy dropped in a service ace to cut into the lead, with Messiah down 16-13. Next, Katie Quesenberry added two kills and a solo block to help tie the set 17-17. The teams began trading points, with the set remaining tied, at 19-19. Julia Bowen would add two kills for Messiah, but the River hawks pulled away, winning 25-22.
 
Set Two
Makenzie Adams, Sydney Wolfe and Katie Quesenberry all added early kills for the Falcons, but the River hawks took a 7-4 lead. Next, Julia Bowen added two kills, and Leah Youtzy added a solo block to tie the set at 8-8. Youtzy then combined with Sydney Wolfe for a block to give the Falcons a 9-8 lead. Makenzie Adams tallied three more kills, and Sydney Wolfe added one kill to increase the Messiah lead to three, at 15-12. Susquehanna responded well, going on a four-point run to take the lead, 16-15. Cassidy Dell scored a kill, and Julia Bowen tallied a kill plus a solo block, with the teams trading points to a 19-19 tie. Bowen and Sydney Wolfe each added one more kill, but the River hawks pulled away late in the set again, taking it 25-22.
 
Set Three
Makenzie Adams, Sydney Wolfe, and Katie Quesenberry all tallied early kills, followed by back-to-back aces from Leah Youtzy, giving Messiah a 7-1 lead. Adams and Quesenberry each added two more kills, with the Falcons leading by eight, at 12-4.  Julia Bowen and Sydney Wolfe added one kill each, and Cassidy Dell dropped in a service ace to extend the lead to ten points, at 17-7. Wolfe and Makenzie Adams each added two more kills, with the lead still at double digits, 22-12. Leah Youtzy added a service ace and Makenzie Adams picked up the final kill, with Messiah taking the set 25-16.
 
Set Four
Katie Quesenberry and Sydney Wolfe picked up kills as the teams traded points early, with Messiah up 5-4. Julia Bowen and Leah Youtzy quickly added two kills each to extend the lead to six points, at 11-5. Susquehanna went on six-point run to tie the set, but Messiah responded with a run of their own, winning the next nine points behind two kills each from Sydney Wolfe and Makenzie Adams, a service ace from Hannah Thomas, and a double block from Wolfe and Leah Youtzy. The River hawks were able to stop the Falcons run, but Leah Youtzy picked up a solo block and two service aces to help Messiah finish the set, winning 25-13, forcing a deciding set five.
 
Set Five
Sydney Wolfe tallied a kill as the teams battled to a 3-3 tie. Katie Quesenberry picked up two kills for Messiah, but the River hawks took a four-point lead, at 10-6, forcing a Falcons timeout. Julia Bowen and Sydney Wolfe each added one more kill for Messiah, but it wasn't enough, with Susquehanna taking the set 15-9, and the match 3-2.
 
Stats
Makenzie Adams and Cassidy Dell both had double-doubles for Messiah, with Adams having 16 kills and 16 digs, while Dell had 47 assists and added 23 digs. Sydney Wolfe had 15 kills for Messiah, while Katie Quesenberry totaled 14 kills. Julia Bowen had ten kills, and Hannah Thomas had 17 digs. Leah Youtzy dropped in seven service aces and added five blocks.
 
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Alvernia University to conclude the MAC Commonwealth regular season on Wednesday, November 5, at 7:00 p.m.