READING, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team opened MAC Commonwealth play on the road at Albright College tonight, with the Falcons taking down the Lions in three sets (25-23, 25-21, 25-19). The Falcons took a tightly contested first set in which the teams went back and forth the whole way. Messiah then found themselves in a hole in the second set but won 13 of the last 16 points to take it. Messiah then won the final set to take the match.
Makenzie Adams had a double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs.
Claire Marzolino added 14 digs, and
Clara Conner had 36 assists.
Up next, the Falcons are back on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena against Dickinson College on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7:00 p.m.
Set One
Kills from
Sydney Wolfe and
Makenzie Adams gave the Falcons an early 2-0 lead. Next,
Leah Youtzy added three kills and
Kayla Batty dropped in a service ace, with Messiah leading 7-5. Albright then went on a five-point run to take a 10-7 lead, but
Makenzie Adams tallied two straight kills to get Messiah back within one point. Adams quickly added another kill, but the Lions extended their lead to four points, up 15-11. Messiah then retook control of the set with a six-point run. During this stretch,
Hannah MacCartney,
Kayla Batty and
Sydney Wolfe all tallied kills, while Wolfe and
Leah Youtzy combined for a block and
Claire Marzolino dropped in a service ace. Albright then won four of the next six points to tie the set, 19-19. The teams then began trading points to a 23-23 tie, but the Falcons would then take the final two points to win the set, 25-23.
Set Two
Makenzie Adams,
Clara Conner, and
Leah Youtzy each added early kills to give Messiah a 5-3 lead. However, Albright took control of the set quickly, winning nine of the next ten points.
Makenzie Adams added three kills over the following stretch of points, but the Lions still held a large lead, up 18-13. The Falcons then went on a seven-point run to retake control, with
Lexi Hetrick and
Sydney Wolfe both adding kills, Wolfe and
Leah Youtzy picking up a block, and
Claire Marzolino dropping in an ace. The Falcons didn't let up the pressure, winning five of the final eight points to take the set 25-21,
Leah Youtzy and
Sydney Wolfe adding kills, and
Makenzie Adams tacking on two kills to end the set.
Set Three
Makenzie Adams and
Lexi Hetrick picked up early kills for Messiah as the teams battled to an 8-8 tie.
Hannah MacCartney added a kill and
Clara Conner dropped in an ace to give Messiah a 10-9 lead, with the Falcons then going on a seven-point run to extend their lead. During the run,
Makenzie Adams,
Sydney Wolfe, and
Lexi Hetrick each added a kill. Wolfe added two more kills, but the Lions started to cut into the Falcons lead, with Messiah up 20-16. However, the Falcons offense then came alive to end things, with
Sydney Wolfe,
Makenzie Adams, and
Lexi Hetrick all picking up kills, and
Leah Youtzy dropping in an ace, as the Falcons took the set 25-18.
Stats
Makenzie Adams had a double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs.
Claire Marzolino added 14 digs, and
Clara Conner had 36 assists.
Sydney Wolfe added 11 kills and three blocks.
Leah Youtzy had six kills, six digs, and two blocks.
Up Next
The Falcons are back on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena against Dickinson College on Friday, Sept. 25, at 7:00 p.m.
