GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team opened the home slate of the 2026 with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20) win over Penn State Brandywine Nittany Lions, moving to 4-1 on the season. The Falcons fell behind early in the first, trailing by six points. However, they were able to chip away at the Nittany Lions lead, before taking the set 26-24. After another slow start, in the second set, the Falcons took control and won the set comfortably, 25-19. In the third, the teams traded runs early before Messiah pulled away, taking the set and the match. The Falcons were led by
Makenzie Adams with 11 kills and 14 digs.
Claire Marzolino added 17 digs, and
Clara Conner had 33 assists.
Up next, the Falcons host a tri-match on Saturday, Sept. 12. Lackawanna College and Notre Dame of Md. will both make the trip to Grantham, with the first match beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Set One
Makenzie Adams started the game with a kill, but the Nittany Lions responded with a five-point run to take an early lead.
Julie-Kathryn Tolar and
Sydney Wolfe combined for a block to stop the run, and kills from Wolfe and
Kayla Batty, plus a block from Batty and
Leah Youtzy got the Falcons back within a point, trailing 6-5. Batty picked up two more kills, but Penn State Brandywine extended their lead back to four points, up 11-7.
Sydney Wolfe and
Makenzie Adams picked up back-to-back kills to make it 11-9, but the Nittany Lions won six of the next seven points to make it 17-10. However, the Falcons responded with their best stretch of the set, winning the next five points to make it 17-15. During the run,
Ellia Spang picked up two kills, with
Leah Youtzy adding a kill as well. The teams began trading points, with Youtzy picking up two more kills and
Ellia Spang dropping in a service ace, with the Nittany Lions still leading 20-18.
Makenzie Adams then began to take over, picking up four kills in the final stretch of the set. Down 24-22, the Falcons won the final four points of the set to take it, 26-24.
Set Two
Makenzie Adams and
Sydney Wolfe picked up early kills for Messiah, but Penn State Brandywine jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. The Falcons responded well, with
Leah Youtzy,
Ellia Spang,
Clara Conner, and
Makenzie Adams all picking up kills as the Falcons won six of the next eight points to tie 9-9.
Clara Conner dropped in a service ace and added a kill, and
Ellia Spang and
Julie-Kathryn Tolar combined for a block to give Messiah a three-point lead in the set 13-10. The Nittany Lions won the next three points to tie the set at 13, but the Falcons roared back with an eight-point run to take control of the set.
Sydney Wolfe and
Leah Youtzy both had two kills during the run, and
Claire Marzolino added a service ace. Wolfe and Youtzy both had one more kill in the set,
Kayla Batty added a kill, and
Erin Eby dropped in a service ace as the Falcons kept up the momentum, winning the set 25-19.
Set Three
The Nittany Lions started strong again, taking a 4-0 lead. The Falcons once again responded well, winning the next six points, fueled by three service aces from
Makenzie Adams. Penn State Brandywine followed with another strong stretch, winning seven of the next ten points to take an 11-9 lead.
Makenzie Adams added a couple kills and
Leah Youtzy added a service ace, but the Nittany Lions still led 14-12. The Falcons then won the next four points to retake the lead, with
Makenzie Adams tallying a kill and an ace, and
Hannah MacCartney adding a kill. Messiah kept up the pressure, with
Kayla Batty tacking on two kills, before
Hannah MacCartney added another kill and
Clara Conner ended the set and match with a service ace.
Stats
The Falcons were led by
Makenzie Adams with 11 kills and 14 digs.
Claire Marzolino added 17 digs, and
Clara Conner had 33 assists.
Sydney Wolfe added nine kills.
Leah Youtzy had eight kills and two total blocks.
Kayla Batty had seven kills, while
Ellia Spang had three kills and seven digs.
Up Next
The Falcons host a tri-match on Saturday, Sept. 12. Lackawanna College and Notre Dame of Md. will both make the trip to Grantham, with the first match beginning at 11:00 a.m.
