GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team was back in today for homecoming on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons welcomed the No. 5 Eagles of Juniata College to Grantham, with the Eagles taking the match in three set (13-25, 24-26, 23-25). After a convincing set one win for Juniata, the teams battled in the second set before the Eagles eventually won it to take a two-set lead. In another close set, the Falcons came up just short in the third, falling in three sets.
Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with eight kills, while
Claire Marzolino picked up 14 digs.
Clara Conner had 23 assists, including her 500th career assist.
Up next, the Falcons are back in conference action at Stevenson University on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m.
Set One
The Eagles took a quick 3-0 lead, but the Falcons tied it up after kills from
Sydney Wolfe and
Kayla Batty, plus a service ace from
Makenzie Adams. Juniata then went on a four-point run to retake the lead, 7-3.
Sydney Wolfe and
Leah Youtzy each added kills, and
Kayla Batty dropped in an ace, as the Falcons cut into the lead, trailing 11-9. However, the Eagles controlled the rest of the set, with two kills from
Makenzie Adams and one kill from
Leah Youtzy being all the offense the Falcons could find as Juniata took the set, 25-13.
Set Two
Sydney Wolfe picked up an early kill as the teams traded points to a 6-6 tie. The Eagles then used a small run to build a three-point lead, but kills from
Makenzie Adams,
Clara Conner, and
Sydney Wolfe helped to even up the set, 12-12. Wolfe and Conner each added another kill,
Leah Youtzy picked up a kill, and
Kayla Batty dropped in an ace as the teams remained tied, 16-16. Messiah then used kills from
Hannah MacCartney and from
Makenzie Adams to take a late lead in the set, 18-17. MacCartney added another kill and combined with
Sydney Wolfe for a block as the teams continued to battle.
Kayla Batty and Wolfe each tacked on a kill, but neither team could pull away with the set tied, 24-24. However, the Eagles were able to take the final two points to win the set, 26-24.
Set Three
Sydney Wolfe and
Hannah MacCartney each tallied a kill and combined for three blocks to give Messiah a 6-2 lead early. The Eagles then won four straight points to tie the set, 6-6, but another kill from Wolfe and an ace from
Erin Eby restored the Falcons advantage.
Kayla Batty and
Leah Youtzy quickly added kills as Messiah kept the lead, winning 11-7.
Makenzie Adams and
Lexi Hetrick got in on the offense with one kill each, but the Eagles won six of the next eight points to tie the set, 13-13.
Lexi Hetrick and
Hannah MacCartney combined for a block to give Messiah a 14-13 lead, but a five-point Eagles run gave them a big advantage, up 18-14. However, the Falcons responded by winning six of the next seven points to retake the lead, 20-19. During the stretch,
Kayla Batty dropped in two kills and
Leah Youtzy tacked on one. Youtzy added another kill as the teams began to trade points late in the set to a 23-23 tie. However, the Eagles once again were able to take the final two points of the set to win 25-23, sweeping the match.
Stats
Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with eight kills, while
Claire Marzolino picked up 14 digs.
Clara Conner had 23 assists, including her 500th career assist.
Makenzie Adams had six kills with 11 digs, while
Hannah MacCartney added three kills and five blocks.
Kayla Batty had five kills, five digs, and one service ace.
Up Next
The Falcons are back in conference action at Stevenson University on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m.
