GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Messiah Women's Volleyball team opened the 2026 season at day one of the Gettysburg Battlefield Classic. The Falcons began the day against Bridgewater College, falling in four sets (22-25, 26-24, 19-25, 21-25), before taking down the Buffalo State Bengals in five sets (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 21-25, 15-10), going 1-1 on the day.
In match one, the Falcons dropped a close first set, before taking the second set to the match. However, the Eagles responded well by winning the next two sets to take the match in four.
Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with 15 kills and
Makenzie Adams added 13 digs with eight kills.
In game two, Messiah jumped out to a two-set lead, but the Bengals won the next two, forcing a fifth set. In the fifth, Buffalo State took an early lead, but the Falcons stormed back to win the set and the match.
Erin Eby picked up 20 digs, including her 500th career dig.
Makenzie Adams had 15 kills and 20 digs.
Sydney Wolfe had a team-high 16 kills.
Up next, the Falcons are back in action for day two of the Battlefield Classic on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 11:00 a.m. against the University of Olivet.
Game One: Messiah – 1, Bridgewater – 3
Set One
Bridgewater started the set hot, jumping out to a 4-1 lead.
Kayla Batty got the Falcons first kill of the season to make it 4-2, but the Eagles kept up the pressure, quickly leading 7-3. Kills from
Clara Conner and
Katie Quesenberry sparked a three-point run for Messiah to make it 7-6.
Leah Youtzy and
Sydney Wolfe each added a kill as Messiah tied the set, 10-10. The Falcons then took a 12-10 lead after a couple attacking errors from the Eagles.
Sydney Wolfe added another kill as Messiah led 14-13, but the Eagles responded with a six-point run to take a 19-14 lead.
Katie Quesenberry and
Clara Conner combined for a block to end the run, and
Makenzie Adams picked up a kill to get Messiah some momentum. After a few more Eagles errors, Messiah only trailed by three, down 22-19.
Leah Youtzy added a final kill for the Falcons, but Bridgewater saw out the set, winning 25-22.
Set Two
Makenzie Adams,
Kayla Batty, and
Katie Quesenberry all picked up kills as the teams battled to a 4-4 tie. Quesenberry followed with a solo block, and Adams added two more kills as the Falcons took a 9-6 lead.
Leah Youtzy and
Sydney Wolfe both tallied kills, but the Eagles took control of the lead, 14-11, to force a Messiah timeout. Out of the timeout,
Sydney Wolfe picked up two more kills and
Ellia Spang dropped in a service ace to give Messiah the lead, 15-14. Wolfe added another kill and
Erin Eby picked up an ace as Messiah kept the lead at 20-15. However, the Eagles cut into the lead quickly, with Messiah now only up 22-21.
Leah Youtzy grabbed a kill, but the teams now found themselves deadlocked, 24-24. However, kills from
Sydney Wolfe and
Katie Quesenberry gave the Falcons the set, 26-24.
Set Three
Kayla Batty tallied an early kill, but Bridgewater rolled out to a 7-3 lead.
Katie Quesenberry and
Clara Conner picked up a block, and
Makenzie Adams added two kills, but the Eagles pushed their lead to six points, up 13-7. After a Messiah timeout,
Leah Youtzy,
Sydney Wolfe, and
Katie Quesenberry all tallied kills as the Falcons began to chip into the Eagles lead. A kill from
Kayla Batty made it 16-12, Bridgewater, but the Eagles then won five of the next six points to build the lead back up.
Makenzie Adams,
Sydney Wolfe, and
Leah Youtzy all added one more kill in the set, but the Eagles took set three 25-19.
Set Four
Makenzie Adams and
Sydney Wolfe picked up early kills, with the sides tied 3-3.
Katie Quesenberry then picked up two kills and
Claire Marzolino dropped in a service ace to give Messiah an 8-6 advantage. The Eagles responded with an eight-point run to take a 14-8 lead. Messiah responded well, with two kills from
Sydney Wolfe and an ace from
Clara Conner helping the Falcons win six of the next seven points, with the Eagles leading 15-14. Wolfe added and another kill, which was followed by a kill from
Katie Quesenberry, and then the pair combined for a double block to make it 17-16, Bridgewater. A few errors from the Eagles then helped Messiah to tie the set 20-20, but the Eagles would win five of the final six points to take the set 25-21, and the match in four sets.
Stats
Sydney Wolfe led the Falcons with 15 kills and
Makenzie Adams added 13 digs with eight kills.
Katie Quesenberry added seven kills and seven total blocks.
Clara Conner had 35 assists.
Game Two: Messiah – 3, Buffalo State – 2
Set One
Leah Youtzy and
Kayla Batty each picked up an early kill as the teams went back and forth to start the set.
Katie Quesenberry and
Sydney Wolfe combined for a double block and Batty added another kill, but Buffalo State held an 8-7 lead. The Falcons then won five of the next six points to take a 12-9 lead, with
Katie Quesenberry,
Leah Youtzy, and
Sydney Wolfe all tallying kills during this stretch, and
Claire Marzolino dropping in a service ace. Youtzy picked up two more kills and
Kayla Batty added another kill as Messiah held the lead throughout the set, up 19-16. Batty and
Claire Marzolino both added one more service ace and
Makenzie Adams tacked on a final kill, with the Falcons taking the set 25-21.
Set Two
Buffalo State started the set on a five-point run to take an early advantage.
Clara Conner tallied a kill to end the run, with
Kayla Batty and
Sydney Wolfe both quickly adding kills, but the Bengals extended their lead to six, up 10-4.
Katie Quesenberry and
Makenzie Adams both added kills to cut into the lead, with the Falcons now trailing 12-10.
Sydney Wolfe and
Leah Youtzy then picked up back-to-back kills to tie the set, 12-12. However, the Bengals responded with a three-point run to take the lead back, 15-12.
Sydney Wolfe tacked on three more kills over the next stretch to help tie the set 17-17.
Katie Quesenberry then picked up a solo block to give Messiah an 18-17 lead. Quesenberry and
Makenzie Adams each added one more kill, but the Bengals retook the lead, 23-21, forcing a Messiah timeout. After the timeout, Adams tallied another kill,
Clara Conner dropped in a service ace,
Sydney Wolfe added a kill, and
Makenzie Adams and
Leah Youtzy combined for a double block as the Falcons won the final four points to take the set, 25-23.
Set Three
Makenzie Adams tallied a kill and dropped in two service aces to give Messiah a 3-0 lead. The Bengals won the next three points to tie the set, but a
Leah Youtzy kill gave Messiah a 4-3 lead.
Kayla Batty and
Katie Quesenberry both added kills, but Buffalo State began to pull away, leading 11-8. Buffalo State led 12-9 after
Clara Conner tacked on a kill, and then the Falcons went on a four-point run to take the lead 13-12. During this run,
Makenzie Adams and
Sydney Wolfe both picked up kills, and Adams tacked on another service ace.
Sydney Wolfe and
Kayla Batty both added kills as the teams traded points, with Buffalo State leading 18-17.
Makenzie Adams added two more kills in the set, but the Bengals took it 25-21 to force a fourth.
Set Four
Sydney Wolfe started the set with a kill, but the Bengals then went on an eight-point run to jump out to an 8-1 lead. Messiah began to chip away after a few Bengals errors and a block from
Leah Youtzy and
Sydney Wolfe, but the Bengals still led 11-4. Sydney Wilfe,
Katie Quesenberry, and
Leah Youtzy all picked up kills, but the Bengals kept their seven-point lead, up 17-10.
Makenzie Adams picked up two kills, followed by back-to-back kills from
Leah Youtzy and
Clara Conner late in the set to pull Messiah within three, down 24-21, but the Bengals got the final point to win the set and force a deciding fifth.
Set Five
Leah Youtzy and
Makenzie Adams both picked up early kills, and Adams added an ace, as the teams battled to a 3-3 tie.
Sydney Wolfe added a kill, but the Bengals used a small run to take a 6-4 lead. Messiah responded well, winning the next seven points to go up 11-6. During this run,
Sydney Wolfe,
Katie Quesenberry, and
Ellia Spang all tallied kills, and
Erin Eby dropped in a service ace. Spang added another kill, but the Bengals started to claw back, getting within two points of Messiah, with the Falcons leading 12-10. However, Messiah would slam the door, with
Katie Quesenberry adding a kill, and
Makenzie Adams picking up the final two kills to win the set 15-10, and the match 3-2.
Stats
Erin Eby picked up 20 digs, including her 500th career dig.
Makenzie Adams had 15 kills and 20 digs.
Sydney Wolfe had a team-high 16 kills.
Leah Youtzy had 10 kills, and
Katie Quesenberry had nine kills with five total blocks.
Claire Marzolino picked up 17 digs, while
Clara Conner added 16 digs and 47 assists.
Up Next
The Falcons are back in action for day two of the Battlefield Classic on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 11:00 a.m. against the University of Olivet.
