GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball began MAC Commonwealth play on Wednesday night, beating the Spartans of York College (25-21, 25-17, 21-25, 25-15).
 
Messiah took the lead early in set one, maintaining it throughout the set. A late Spartans surge wasn't enough, with the Falcons taking the set 25-21. Set two started out even, with the teams trading points before a big Falcons run gave them the lead, taking the set in commanding fashion, 25-17. York jumped out to a big lead to start the fourth set, but the Falcons battled back to make it close, before dropping the set 25-21. Messiah bounced back, controlling the fourth set, winning the set 25-15 and winning the match in four sets.
 
Up next, the Falcons host Lebanon Valley College and Salisbury University for a tri-match on Saturday, September 27, at 12:00 p.m.
 
Set One
Both teams began the set trading hitting errors before a Katie Quesenberry kill got the offense started. Quesenberry added two more kills quickly to help the Falcons jump to a 7-3 lead. Claire Marzolino then added two straight aces, and Cynthia Boller scored her first kill to make the score 11-5 and force a York timeout. Boller added two more kills after the timeout to help increase the lead to seven, at 13-6. Sydney Wolfe got her first two kills of the match, keeping the lead at seven, with Messiah leading 16-9. York won the next three points to close the gap and force a Messiah timeout. After the timeout, Cassidy Dell and Cynthia Boller tallied kills, but the Spartans continued to get back into the set, with Messiah taking another timeout up 22-19. The Spartans won the first two points out of the timeout to get within one but kills from Leah Youtzy and Makenzie Adams helped the Falcons close out the set, winning 25-21.
 
Set Two
Sydney Wolfe started the second set with a kill, followed by two kills from Makenzie Adams as the teams battled back and forth to a 5-5 tie. The teams continued trading points, with two Cynthia Boller kills keeping the score tied, 7-7. The teams continued going back and forth, with the score tied at nine, before three kills from Makenzie Adams and two from Katie Quesenberry gave Messiah a five-point lead at 15-10. Katie Quesenberry and Cassidy Dell combined for a block and Quesenberry added another kill to make it 17-10, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout. Cynthia Boller added another kill after of the timeout, followed by a Spartan error, pushing the Falcons lead to ten. Cynthia Boller and Sydney Wolfe each added one more kill, but the Spartans started to make a small comeback, with the Falcons leading by six, 23-17. Makenzie Adams then put the set away, scoring two straight kills, giving the Falcons a 25-17 set win.
 
Set Three
York jumped out to a 7-1 lead to start the fourth set, forcing an early Falcons timeout. Katie Quesenberry got a kill out of the timeout, followed by a service ace from Courtney Wolf, making it 7-3. The Falcons battled back, with Cynthia Boller adding her first kill of the set, followed by a kill from Cassidy Dell and a solo block from Leah Youtzy to cut the Spartans lead to one at 11-10, forcing a York timeout. Cynthia Boller and Sydney Wolfe each added another kill after the timeout, but York got their lead back to four, at 17-13. Boller and Makenzie Adams each tallied a kill as the set continued, getting the Falcon deficit back to one late, trailing 22-21. The Spartans would then get the offense rolling again, winning the next three points to take the set, 25-21.
 
Set Four
Three kills and a service ace from Makenzie Adams, plus a service ace from Courtney Wolf gave Messiah an early 6-4 lead in the set. Cynthia Boller and Makenzie Adams each added another kill, and Cassidy Dell scored a service ace to extend the Falcons lead to four, at 11-7, with the Spartans deciding to take a timeout. Makenzie Adams quickly added two more kills after the timeout to make the score 14-8. The teams then traded a few points, with the Spartans down five, before two straight kills from Cynthia Boller got the lead back to seven, at 19-12. Leah Youtzy scored a kill, and Cassidy Dell added another service ace to make it 22-14 Messiah. Cynthia Boller scored two more kills to make it 24-15, and Erin Eby finished the set with a service ace, giving the Falcons the win in four sets.
 
Stats
Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 17 kills, while Makenzie Adams had 16 kills and 14 digs. Cassidy Dell had 41 assists and two service aces. Claire Marzolino had 13 digs, with Erin Eby adding 11 digs. Leah Youtzy had one solo block and two block assists. Courtney Wolf had two service aces.
 
Up Next
The Falcons host Lebanon Valley College and Salisbury University for a tri-match on Saturday, September 27, at 12:00 p.m.