Volleyball
Lebanon Valley 3, Messiah 2

Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Lebanon Valley volleyball rallied from six points down in the fifth set to claim a 3-2 (20-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-12, 15-13) win over Messiah Wednesday evening at LVC Gymnasium. The Dutchmen advance to the Commonwealth Conference championship match and will face top seeded Elizabethtown on Saturday. Game time is to be determined.

Joelle Snyder led Lebanon Valley with a .319 hitting percentage and Michelle Little hit .289 in the match. Three Dutchmen registered double digit kills and combined for 53 of LVC's 64 kills. Emily Hopkins posted 20, while Snyder added 18 and Little tallied 15 kills.

Emily Perkins sparked the offensive effort with 51 assists, setting a new season high. Angela Kuperavage registered 31 digs in the match, one short of tying her season high. Held to four total blocks, Snyder claimed the only solo block against the Falcons.

The serving game was tough for LVC, tallying just five service aces in the match including a team-best two from Little.

Messiah started off strong and took an early lead, claiming the first two matches. Lebanon Valley rallied to secure the third set. LVC held the advantage in the beginning until the Falcons came back to tie the score at 19 aside and followed through with two more points to regain the lead. Lebanon Valley posted four kills and had help with two attack errors by Messiah late in the set to record the 25-22 win.

Lebanon Valley dominated the fourth set with a 25-12 victory to send the match to a deciding fifth frame. After going up 15-10, the Dutchmen never looked back, posting 10 of the next 12 points.

The fifth set opened with an advantage to Messiah. With the score 8-4 at the turn, the Falcons added two more points before the Dutchmen fought back with three straight kills from Hopkins to put LVC back in the match. A Messiah attack error followed by a kill from Jamie Hawk cut the Falcons lead to one. The two teams traded points and were tied at 13 aside before two straight kills from Snyder secured the victory and sent LVC to the title match.

The Dutchmen are making their third straight appearance in the conference championship match. LVC is looking for its third straight championship after claiming back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009.