GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball split their tri-match on Saturday, defeating the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College in the first match in three sets (25-11, 25-12, 25-21), and falling to the Sea Gulls of Salisbury University in three sets (18-25, 14-25, 23-25).
 
In match one, Messiah dominated set one from the start, taking the set comfortably. Set two was much of the same, with the Falcons building a big lead and holding it to win the set. In the third set, the Dutchmen came out strong, taking an early lead, but the Falcons stormed back to take control of the set. The teams battled for the rest of the set, with Messiah winning, taking the match 3-0. Cynthia Boller led the Falcons with 13 kills, while Katie Quesenberry added nine kills and three blocks.
 
In match two, the Sea Gulls controlled play to start. Salisbury took an early lead in the first, but Messiah battled back to get within a point halfway through the set. The Sea Gulls then took over, winning the first set, and then taking the second set comfortably as well. In the third set the teams battled, but the Sea Gulls pulled away just at the end, taking the set 25-23, winning the match. Cynthia Boller had a team-high 13 kills in the match, with Makenzie Adams adding seven kills and 12 digs.
 
Up next, the Falcons host the Mustangs of Stevenson University on Jordan Court in Hitchcock arena on Tuesday, September 30, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Match One: Messiah – 3, Lebanon Valley – 0
Set One
The Falcons started strong after a kill from Makenzie Adams, two service aces from Leah Youtzy, and a block from Adams and Katie Quesenberry gave them an early 4-1 lead. Makenzie Adams and Katie Quesenberry each tacked on another kill, extending the lead to six, at 8-2. Adams and Quesenberry each added another kill, and Adams added a service ace making the score 11-3. Cynthia Boller and Sydney Wolfe both joined in on the offensive onslaught, with Boller adding two kills and Wolfe scoring 1, with Messiah now leading 16-7. The Falcons didn't let up, with Cynthia Boller adding two more kills and Makenzie Adams adding another kill as the Falcons took the set 25-11.
 
Set Two
The teams started the second set trading points. Leah Youtzy dropped in her third service ace, and Sydney Wolfe added two kills while Makenzie Adams tallied a kill, with Messiah having an early 4-3 lead. Messiah then began to take over, with Cynthia Boller and Katie Quesenberry each scoring two kills, and Makenzie Adams adding a service ace to make it 11-3. Leah Youtzy tallied another kill for the Falcons, but the Dutchmen started to get back into it, cutting the lead down five at 15-10. A few Dutchmen errors restored the Falcons lead to seven at 18-11, and then Cynthia Boller added three more kills, and Katie Quesenberry scored a kill to make it 24-11. The Dutchmen stopped the Falcon run for one point, but Katie Quesenberry tacked on another kill to give the set to Messiah, 25-12.
 
Set Three
Lebanon Valley started the third set strong, winning the first five points. The Falcons responded well, winning the next seven points behind two kills each from Sydney Wolfe and Katie Quesenberry. Wolfe added another kill, and Makenzie Adams scored two kills, with Messiah still leading 10-9. Messiah took over, winning seven of the next eight points after three kills from Cynthia Boller and two kills from Leah Youtzy. Lebanon Valley won the next three points, but Messiah still led 17-13. Another kill from Cynthia Boller and a service ace from Erin Eby helped the Falcons win the next three points, with the lead back to seven at 20-13. The Dutchmen responded by winning the next five points, cutting the lead down to two. Leah Youtzy got a kill to stop the Dutchmen run, and the Falcons finished strong, with kills from Sydney Wolfe and Katie Quesenberry helping the Falcons win the set 25-21, and the match three sets to zero,
 
Stats
Katie Quesenberry had nine kills and three blocks for the Falcons. Cynthia Boller had a team-high 13 kills. Leah Youtzy had four kills and three service aces. Claire Marzolino led the Falcons with 12 digs. Erin Eby had 10 digs, while Courtney Wolf and Cassidy Dell each added nine digs. Sydney Wolfe and Makenzie Adams each had eight kills.
 
Match Two: Messiah – 0, Salisbury – 3
Set One
The Sea Gulls won six of the first seven points to jump out to an early lead. Katie Quesenberry got the first kill of the match for the Falcons to make it 6-2, but Salisbury continued piling on the pressure, extending the lead to eight, at 11-3. The Falcons with responded with a four-point run thanks to a Claire Marzolino ace and two kills from Cynthia Boller, making it 11-7. The Sea Gulls won the next two points to make it 13-7, but three more kills from Cynthia Boller and two kills from Sydney Wolfe got the Falcons within one, at 13-12. However, the Sea Gulls began to build their lead back, with three more kills from Cynthia Boller and one from Makenzie Adams not being enough for Messiah as they dropped the set 25-18.
 
Set Two
A kill from Sydney Wolfe and service ace from Leah Youtzy gave Messiah an early 2-0 lead. The Sea Gulls responded, winning six of the next seven points to take a 6-3 lead. Cynthia Boller tallied two kills and Katie Quesenberry added another as Messiah stayed within reach of Salisbury, trailing 11-9. The Sea Gulls built their lead back to six, at 18-12, even after kills from Sydney Wolfe, Leah Youtzy, and Katie Quesenberry. Quesenberry and Makenzie Adams each added one more kill in the set, but the Falcons fell 25-14.
 
Set Three
The Sea Gulls started set three on the front foot, taking a 5-2 lead. Hannah MacCartney got a kill to stop the run, followed by a Makenzie Adams kill, with Messiah trailing 6-4. MacCartney added another kill, and Cynthia Boller got her first of the set, but the Sea Gull lead grew to four, at 12-8. The Falcons responded well, with Leah Youtzy scoring a service ace, followed by a Katie Quesenberry solo block and double block from Quesenberry and Makenzie Adams to tie the set at 12. Salisbury took the next point, but Quesenberry got a kill to tie it back up, 13-13. Salisbury went on a run to build the lead back up to four, but Messiah used kills from Makenzie Adams, Cynthia Boller, and Cassidy Dell to make it 18-17, Salisbury. The teams traded a few more points, with another Cynthia Boller kill making it 19-18, Salisbury. The Sea Gulls took the next point to make it 20-18, but the Falcons responded with a kill from Leah Youtzy to help tie the set at 20. The Sea Gulls won the next point, but Messiah responded with a kill from Makenzie Adams and a double block by Hannah MacCartney and Katie Quesenberry to take their first lead of the set, at 22-21. The Sea Gulls would call a timeout, and out of the timeout would win four of the final five points, taking the set 25-23.
 
Stats
Makenzie Adams had seven kills and 12 digs for Messiah. Cynthia Boller had a team-high 13 kills. Katie Quesenberry added five kills and four blocks.
 
Up Next
The Falcons host the Mustangs of Stevenson University on Jordan Court in Hitchcock arena on Tuesday, September 30, at 7:00 p.m.