ANNVILLE, Pa. – After winning the first two games, Lebanon Valley rallied from a 10-1 deficit in Game 3 en route to a 3-0 (30-22, 30-22, 30-27) win over Messiah in the Commonwealth Conference volleyball opener for both teams Tuesday evening at the LVC Gymnasium.
Senior Natalie Goodfellow delivered a match-high 16 kills to go with four blocks for Lebanon Valley (6-3, 1-0 CC) while Shelby White had 10 kills for Messiah (3-6, 0-1 CC).
In the first game, the Flying Dutchwomen trailed just once, when it was 1-0. Messiah trailed just 17-16 midway through the set before LVC broke it open with a 7-1 run.
The second stanza was a nip-and-tuck affair early on, and a Brandi Roth ace gave the Valley an 18-14 lead. But the Falcons rallied with a 7-1 run of its own to assume a 21-19 lead following back-to-back aces from Karen Freidhoff, who finished with five aces for the match. However, the Dutchwomen closed out the game on an 11-1 run, getting three kills from setter Erin Yost during the stretch.
After Messiah's fast start in Game 3, LVC answered with a 6-1 run to make it an 11-7 game. The Falcons enjoyed a 14-9 lead before the Valley went on a 13-4 surge that made it 22-18. Messiah came back to tie it twice, the last time at 25-all following a Meghan Morrissey ace, but the Dutchwomen outscored the Falcons 5-2 the rest of the way. Freshman Whitney Meyers had two block assists and a kill during LVC's final five points.
Meyers finished with 11 kills and five blocks for the match while sophomore Margaret Prebula had 10 kills and three blocks. Yost handed out 38 assists and enjoyed an excellent night hitting. She had six kills and no errors on eight attempts for a .750 mark. Roth had a match-high 23 digs while junior Jill Miller, and freshman Christa Vrabel posted 16 and 14 digs, respectively. Freshman Kay Lynn Zeiset contributed three blocks.
Lebanon Valley held Messiah to .022 hitting. Samantha Bradley had four blocks for the Falcons.
Lebanon Valley returns to action on Friday, when they host the two-day Flying Dutchman Tournament. LVC takes on Ursinus College at 3 p.m. and Haverford College at 7 p.m.
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