GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team was back in action on Tuesday night, welcoming the Neumann Knights for the conference home opener. The Falcons took down the Knights in a five-set thriller (25-18, 25-19, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13), with Messiah taking the first two sets convincingly. However, the Knights took the next two sets to force a fifth, where the Falcons won a tightly contested set to move to 2-0 in conference play.
Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with 17 kills.
Makenzie Adams totaled 16 kills and 15 digs.
Leah Youtzy totaled 10 kills and five blocks.
Clara Conner added 43 assists.
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Up next, the Falcons are back in action against No. 6 Juniata College for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1:00 p.m.
Set One
Hannah MacCartney opened the match with a solo block, and the Falcons used a five-point run to take an early 6-1 lead. During the run,
Sydney Wolfe picked up two kills,
Kayla Batty and
Makenzie Adams added one kill each, and
Makenzie Adams dropped in a service ace.
Sydney Wolfe added two more quick kills, but the Knights used a five-point run of their own to take 10-9 lead halfway through the set.
Kayla Batty tallied a kill as the teams traded points to an 11-11 tie, followed by three kills from
Makenzie Adams during a seven-point Falcons run to give Messiah an 18-11 lead.
Hannah MacCartney and
Sydney Wolfe each added two more kills as the Falcons kept up the pressure, and
Leah Youtzy tacked on one final kill to give Messiah the set, 25-18.
Set Two
Sydney Wolfe and
Leah Youtzy each tallied a kill as the Knights took a 9-6 lead.
Hannah MacCartney added a kill and
Kayla Batty and
Leah Youtzy combined for a block as Messiah fought back to tie the set, 12-12. Messiah then used the momentum to win eight of the next ten points to take a 20-14 lead. During this stretch,
Leah Youtzy added three kills and a solo block, while
Makenzie Adams and
Kayla Batty each added one kill. The Falcons kept up and the pressure, with kills from
Sydney Wolfe,
Hannah MacCartney, and
Kayla Batty helping Messiah see out a set win, 25-19.
Set Three
Makenzie Adams picked up three kills, while
Leah Youtzy added a kill and
Kayla Batty dropped in a service ace, as the Falcons took a 7-5 lead. The Knights responded well, winning six of the next nine points to take an 11-10 lead.
Hannah MacCartney tallied two kills and
Kayla Batty added one, as the teams went back-and-forth to a Falcons 18-16 lead. However, the Knights won nine of the last 12 points to take the set, 25-21.
Set Four
Sydney Wolfe picked up two early kills, but Neumann jumped out to a 10-2 lead.
Lexi Hetrick added a solo block, but the Knight maintained a steady lead, up 12-6. The Falcons began to claw back in the set, with
Leah Youtzy,
Makenzie Adams, and
Sydney Wolfe all adding kills, and
Claire Marzolino dropping an ace, but the Knights still lead, 15-12. Adams added another kill and
Kayla Batty tallied one kill as Messiah continued to cut into the lead, with the Knight just up by one, 18-17. However, Neumann regained control of the set, winning seven of the final 10 points to take it, 25-20.
Set Five
Makenzie Adams tallied two kills, and
Sydney Wolfe added one, as the teams battled to a 4-4 tie.
Leah Youtzy then picked up three kills for the Falcons as they held a 9-8 lead over halfway through the set.
Makenzie Adams added two more kills as Messiah led 11-10, and then
Sydney Wolfe tacked on a kill and combined with
Leah Youtzy for a block to extend the Falcons advantage to three, up 13-10. However, Neumann used a three-point swing to quickly tie the set, 13-13.
Sydney Wolfe then added another kill to retake the lead for Messiah, and an error from Neumann gave the Falcons the set, 15-13, and the match in five.
Stats
Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with 17 kills.
Makenzie Adams totaled 16 kills and 15 digs.
Leah Youtzy totaled 10 kills and five blocks.
Clara Conner added 43 assists.
Claire Marzolino picked up 18 digs.
Up Next
The Falcons are back in action against No. 6 Juniata College for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1:00 p.m.
