Messiah 3, Lebanon Valley 1 (25-23, 25-19, 25-15, 25-15)

How It Happened
GRANTHAM, Pa. – Lebanon Valley dropped a 3-1 decision at Messiah in the semifinal round of the MAC Commonwealth postseason tournament on Wednesday night. The Dutchmen fell to 21-10 overall, while the Falcons (29-2) travel to take on No. 1 Stevenson in the championship on Saturday.

These two squads played a thrilling five-setter earlier this season, and the first set was just like the previous matchup. Tied at 11-11, Messiah rattled off three straight points only to see LVC come back and tie it at 15-15 off an Abbey Barnhart service ace. Down 23-19, the Dutchmen came soaring back and scored three in a row to come to within one at 23-22. The Falcons, however, were able to finish off LVC and narrowly take the opening set 25-23.

The Dutchmen came out in the second and scored the set's first six points, forcing Messiah to call a timeout. The Falcons battled back and came to within three at 11-8, but three consecutive kills from Greta Weidemoyer, Rachel Moltz, and Alli Quirk put LVC up by six at 14-8. Late in the set, Messiah came to within three at 21-19, but the Dutchmen scored the set's final four points to take it 25-19 and even the match at 1-1.

In the final two sets, LVC battled throughout, but midway through each set the Falcons were able to go on runs that the Dutchmen could not recover from, as Messiah took the third and fourth set 25-19 and won the match 3-1.

Inside the Numbers
 - Quirk led the way offensively for LVC with 13 kills, while Jess Attieh added 11. Quirk also had a team-high four blocks.
 - Allie Garret dug out a match-best 21 balls.
 - Emily Sides added 13 digs and Moltz chipped in 12 along with 36 assists.

Season Not Quite Over
An ECAC matchup could be on the horizon for the Dutchmen next week. GoDutchmen.com will provide the news early next week.