GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team split their two matches on day two of the Messiah Invitational, winning a five-set thriller against Oberlin College (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13), and falling to Gettysburg College in four sets (15-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-25).
In match one, the teams were evenly matched in the first set before a late push gave Oberlin the one-set lead in the match. Messiah responded well, dominating the second set to tie the match at a set apiece. The Falcons continued the strong play in the third set, comfortably winning to take the 2-1 lead. Oberlin responded well, controlling and winning the fourth set to send the match to set five. Messiah jumped out to a lead in the fifth set, before Oberlin came back to take the lead late. Down 12-11, Messiah would win four of the last five points, winning the set and the match. Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 19 kills. Makenzie Adams had nine kills and 16 digs, while Claire Marzolino had 17 digs and five service aces.
In match two, Messiah started strong, but Gettysburg took over to win the set comfortably. The second set started out even, but the Bullets pulled away to win it, leading two sets to zero. Messiah played well throughout the third set, winning it and forcing a fourth. In set four, the teams battled early but Gettysburg pulled away to win the set and the match.
 
Up next, the Falcons begin MAC Commonwealth play, hosting the Spartans of York College on Wednesday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
 
Match One: Messiah – 3, Oberlin – 1
Set One
Oberlin started the first set strong, jumping to a 4-2 lead, with early kills from Leah Youtzy and Hannah Thomas for the Falcons. Makenzie Adams grabbed a kill and a service ace, sparking a Falcons run to tie the set, 5-5. A double block from Cynthia Boller and Katie Quesenberry then gave the Falcons their first lead of the match at 6-5. The Falcons maintained the lead throughout the middle portion of the set, with two kills from Cynthia Boller, one kill apiece from Leah Youtzy and Sydney Wolfe, and a service ace by Cassidy Dell. Down 14-11, Oberlin strung a few points together, tying the set 16-16. The teams traded points but kills from Leah Youtzy and Cynthia Boller kept the advantage for the Falcons, leading 19-18. However, Oberlin took over for the remainder of the set, winning seven of the final ten points, taking the set 25-22.
 
Set Two
Makenzie Adams, Katie Quesenberry, and Cynthia Boller each picked up kills early, with the Falcons taking a quick 6-3 lead. Quesenberry added another kill, followed by two straight aces from Claire Marzolino to force an Oberlin timeout, with Messiah leading 9-4. The Falcons kept up the pressure after the timeout, extending the lead to 16-10 after kills from Cynthia Boller, Sydney Wolfe, and Makenzie Adams. Boller added another kill, Claire Marzolino picked up two more service aces, and a block from Cassidy Dell and Leah Youtzy extended the lead to 21-12. The Falcons finished the set with one more kill from Cynthia Boller, a service ace from Cassidy Dell, and a kill from Leah Youtzy, winning the set 25-15.
 
Set Three
The third set started out even after the teams traded points early, with Makenzie Adams grabbing a kill and Courtney Wolfe adding a service ace. The Falcons then began to take over behind three kills from Cynthia Boller, plus a kill from Sydney Wolfe, taking a 12-8 lead. Erin Eby added a service ace, and Leah Youtzy added a kill to extend the Falcons lead to eight, 16-8. Youtzy added another kill, followed by kills from Makenzie Adams and Cynthia Boller, as the Falcons won a dominant third set, 25-15.
 
Set Four
Down two sets to one, Oberlin started set four strong, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Sydney Wolfe, Katie Quesenberry, Cassidy Dell, and Cynthia Boller all added kills, but Oberlin pushed the lead to 11-6, forcing a Messiah timeout. Messiah started to cut into the lead, with Sydney Wolfe grabbing two more kills. Cynthia Boller, Katie Quesenberry, and Makenzie Adams each added another kill to bring the Falcons within three, down 15-12, forcing Oberlin to take a timeout of their own. After the timeout, Oberlin got the lead back up to six, leading 21-15, but two more kills from Cynthia Boller and a kill from Leah Youtzy to make it 22-19 forced Oberlin to take another timeout. Erin Eby scored a service ace after the timeout to make it 22-20, but Oberlin won the next three points, winning the fourth set and sending the match to a deciding fifth set.
 
Set Five
Cynthia Boller and Sydney Wolfe picked up early kills as the two teams battled to a 4-4 tie early in the deciding set. Messiah then went on a run, with Cynthia Boller picking up another kill and Sydney Wolfe adding two more kills, giving the Falcons a 9-4 lead. Oberlin then began to take over, winning eight of the following ten points, taking a 12-11 lead late in the set. An Oberlin service error tied the set 12-12, and Katie Quesenberry added a kill to give the Falcons the lead, 13-12. Quesenberry and Cassidy Dell picked up a double block to give the Falcons match point at 14-12. Oberlin would win the next point, but Cynthia Boller picked up her 19th kill of the match to give the Falcons the set, 15-12, winning the match in five sets.
 
Stats
Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 19 kills, with Sydney Wolfe adding ten kills. Claire Marzolino led the Falcons with five service aces and added 16 digs. Makenzie Adams had nine kills and a team-high 17 digs. Leah Youtzy had nine kills and two block assists, while Katie Quesenberry had six kills with two block assists.
 
Match Two: Messiah – 1, Gettysburg – 3
Set One
Messiah started the match well, with two Sydney Wolfe kills giving the Falcons an early 4-2 lead. The teams then traded points back and forth, with the score tied at 6 after Falcon kills from Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry. The Bullets began to control the match, going a four-point run, before Cynthia Boller got her first kill of the match with the Falcons trailing 11-7. Gettysburg continued to play well, extending their lead to 17-9. Sydney Wolfe, Katie Quesenberry, and Leah Youtzy each grabbed a kill for the Falcons, but the Bullets took the first set, 25-15
 
Set Two
Sydney Wolfe started the second set with a kill, but the Bullets scored three straight points to grab an early lead. Curtney Wolf scored a service ace and Makenzie Adams picked up a kill for the Falcons to tie the set, 4-4. Gettysburg then went on another small run, taking a 9-5 lead. Cassidy Dell picked up a kill and Erin Eby added a service ace to get the Falcons within one, down 11-10, but the Bullets regained the momentum, extending the lead to 16-11. Katie Quesenberry picked up two kills, and Cynthia Boller added a kill, but the Bullets didn't let up, winning the set 25-18.
 
Set Three
Gettysburg kept their momentum up, starting the third set by winning the first four points. Messiah responded well, with Sydney Wolfe picking up a kill and Leah Youtzy adding three straight service aces to tie the set at four. Cassidy Dell added two kills, and Makenzie Adams scored a service ace to give Messiah a 9-6 lead. Cynthia Boller then added a kill, followed by a double block from Leah Youtzy and Cassidy Dell, with Messiah leading, 11-8. Gettysburg got to within one, down 11-10, but two straight kills from Julia Bowen would restore the Falcon lead to four, at 14-10. Gettysburg won the next four points, tying the set, before Messiah took the lead back after two kills from Katie Quesenberry, leading 18-15. Quesenberry picked up another kill, and Cynthia Boller added a kill, but the Bullets tied the set at 20. Boller would score the next point, and the Falcons would finish the set strong, winning 25-21.
 
Set Four
Julia Bowen started the fourth set with a kill, followed by a Bullet error to give Messiah an early lead. The teams traded points, with Katie Quesenberry scoring two kills for the Falcons. Gettysburg then began to gain momentum, jumping out to a 15-8 lead. Leah Youtzy picked up a service ace, but the Bullets followed it with another run, extending the lead to 18-9. Sydney Wolfe and Katie Quesenberry each added one more kill for the Falcons, but it wasn't enough, as the Bullets took the fourth set 25-15, winning the match.
 
Stats
Katie Quesenberry had a team-high ten kills and one solo block. Erin Eby led the Falcons with 15 digs. Cassidy Dell had 23 assists, 14 digs, and three kills. Leah Youtzy added one solo block and four block assists.
 
Up Next
The Falcons begin MAC Commonwealth play, hosting the Spartans of York College on Wednesday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.