Gettysburg, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team opened their 2025 season in Gettysburg at the Battlefield Classic, splitting their two matches on the day, defeating the Bridgewater College Eagles 3-2 (25-19, 21-25, 17-25, 25-14, 15-9), and falling to the Otterbein Cardinals 3-0 (14-25, 9-25, 17-25).
In game one, the Falcons took the first set to take a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals took the next two sets, taking a 2-1 lead, but the Falcons stormed back to take the fourth set convincingly. The Falcons would win the winner take all fifth set to start the season off strong with a 3-2 victory. Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 19 kills. Cassidy Dell had a career high 48 assists and added 10 digs.
In game two, the Falcons and Cardinals began by trading points, before a 12-point Cardinal run helped them take a one set lead. The Cardinals kept up their strong play, winning the next two sets, beating the Falcons 3-0. Makenzie Adams had nine kills and nine digs. Claire Marzolino added nine digs for the Falcons.

Up next, the Falcons take on the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Saturday, August 29 at 11:00 a.m. in day two of the Battlefield Classic.
 
Match One: Messiah 3, Bridgewater 2
Set One
The Falcons and Eagles started out the set going back and forth trading points, with the Falcons leading 5-4 early. Kills by Cassidy Dell, Cynthia Boller, and Julia Bowen extended the Falcons lead to 12-6. The Eagles pulled back to within three later in the set, trailing the Falcons 16-13, but kills by Katie Quesenberry and Cynthia Boller put the set out of reach, with the Falcons taking the set 25-19.
 
Set Two
The Eagles started the second set strong, grabbing a quick 6-2 lead. Messiah would storm back, with four straight kills from Cynthia Boller giving the Falcons a 11-9 lead. Makenzie Adams, Katie Quesenberry, and Leah Youtzy would add kills for the Falcons as the set went back and forth, being tied 21-21 before the Eagles scored four straight points to take the set 25-21.
 
Set Three
The two teams started the third set once again trading points. After service aces from Hannah Thomas and Makenzie Adams, and kills from Adams, Cynthia Boller, Leah Youtzy, Katie Quesenberry, and Cassidy Dell, the Falcons and Eagles were tied 10-10. The Eagles then began to pull away. Makenzie Adams would add on four more kills in the set, but the Eagles would take it 25-15.
 
Set Four
Bridgewater started the fourth set winning the first two points. The Falcons won the next four points, taking a 4-2 lead after kills from Cynthia Boller, Makenzie Adams, and Sydney Wolfe. The teams would trade points back and forth, with the Falcons holding a 12-10 lead, before two kills each from Boller and Wolfe extended the lead to 16-10. The Falcons kept the lead, taking the fourth set 25-14 to send the match to a fifth set.
 
Set Five
The Eagles started the fifth set on the front foot, jumping out to a 5-3 lead. The Falcons responded with six straight points to take a 9-5 lead, including two more kills from Cynthia Boller and a kill from Cassidy Dell. Boller, Makenzie Adams, Sydney Wolfe, and Katie Quesenberry each added one more kill, leading the Falcons to a 15-9 win in the final set and winning the match 3-2.
 
Stats
Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with a team high 19 kills on a .459 hitting percentage. Cassidy Dell had a career high 48 assists and added 10 digs. Erin Eby led the team in digs with 21. Makenzie Adams had 16 kills, four service aces, and 19 digs. Sydney Wolfe had six kills. Julia Bowen and Leah Youtzy added four kills each.
 
Game Two: Otterbein 3, Messiah 0
Set One
The Falcons and Cardinals started the first set back and forth. After kills by Makenzie Adams, Sydney Wolfe, and Katie Quesenberry the score was 3-3. Cynthia Boller entered the game, getting three kills to give the Falcons a 7-5 lead. Cassidy Dell added a kill to make it 8-5 Messiah. The teams traded a few more points, with the Falcons leading 9-7, before the Cardinals went on a 12-point run to take a 19-9 lead. Cynthia Boller added another kill to stop the run, but the Cardinals would go on to win the set 25-14.
 
Set Two
The Cardinals picked up right where they left off to end the first set. Makenzie Adams picked up two kills, but Otterbein jumped out to a 13-3 lead. Katie Quesenberry, Leah Youtzy, and Cynthia Boller all picked up kills, but the Cardinals extended their lead to 23-7. Adams and Quesenberry each added another kill, but Otterbein took the second set 25-9 to take a two-set lead.
 
Set Three
After a kill from Sydney Wolfe and a few service errors, the Falcons started the third set with a 4-2 advantage. Four kills from Makenzie Adams kept the Falcons offense going, with the team's trading points to a 13-12 Otterbein lead. Otterbein then took control of the set. Sydney Wolfe added two more kills, and Cynthia Boller added a final kill for the game, but the Falcons dropped the set 25-17 and the match three sets to none.
 
Stats
Makenzie Adams had nine kills and nine digs for the Falcons. Cynthia Boller had seven kills. Cassidy Dell led the Falcons with 19 assists and 11 digs. Claire Marzolino added nine digs for the Falcons. Erin Eby and Hannah Thomas each had eight digs for the Falcons.
 
Up Next
The Falcons take on the Carnegie Mellon Tartans on Saturday, August 29 at 11:00 a.m. in day two of the Battlefield Classic.