Lebanon Valley def. Messiah 3-2 (17-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-12)

How It Happened
GRANTHAM, Pa. – Lebanon Valley's volleyball team erased a 2-0 deficit and defeated Messiah 3-2 in thrilling fashion on Thursday night in MAC Commonwealth volleyball action. The Dutchmen jumped to 16-11, 6-2 MAC Commonwealth and the Falcons dropped to 14-15, 5-3 MAC Commonwealth.

After falling in the first two sets, LVC started the third set on a 5-0 run. Messiah countered with a mini 4-1 spurt, but back-to-back kills from Jess Attieh and Jayna Class, followed by a Falcons' attack error and another kill from Class, increased the Dutchmen's advantage to 10-4. Messiah remained within striking distance throughout the next several points, but when it was 17-11 LVC, the Dutchmen scored three straight to go up 20-11 and LVC went on to win the set 25-17, cutting Messiah's lead in half at 2-1.

The Falcons were in control early on in the fourth with an 11-6 advantage, and they kept their lead until at 17-12, LVC battled back and rattled off nine consecutive points to go up 19-17, forcing Messiah to burn a timeout. Soon after, with the Dutchmen ahead 20-19, they put together a 4-0 run to go up 24-19 and eventually took the set 25-20 to even the match at 2-2 and send it into a fifth-and-final set.

In the fifth, LVC jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, capped by a service ace by Abbey Barnhart. The Falcons kept it close and stayed within one or two points of LVC, but with the Dutchmen up 11-10, LVC earned three consecutive points, including a kill by Class and another service ace by Barnhart, to go up 14-10. The Falcons earned two points in-a-row, but Class finished off Messiah with a kill to complete LVC's comeback and give them a huge 3-2 win.

Inside the Numbers
 - This is the Dutchmen's first win over Messiah since Oct. 22, 2014 when LVC defeated the Falcons 3-0 in Annville.
 - Attieh finished with 20 kills and five blocks for the Dutchmen.
 - Class had 14 kills, while Nina Mentzer chipped in six and added three blocks.
 - Jensen Burnheimer led the match with 45 assists, and the freshman added three blocks and 14 digs.
 - Barnhart paced LVC with a match-high 20 digs, while Erin Koons added 15.
 - For Messiah, Mary Underman registered 20 kills and Kate Preduhomme dug out 19 balls.

MAC Commonwealth Championship Tournament Set
With the win tonight, LVC has locked up the No. 3 seed in next week's Conference Tournament. The Dutchmen will head to No. 2 Arcadia on Wednesday night in the semifinal round at 7 p.m. On Monday No. 5 Alvernia travels to battle No. 4 Messiah, with the winner taking on No. 1 Stevenson on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Who's Next?
LVC wraps up regular-season action on Saturday at Marymount's (Va.) Tri-Match. The Dutchmen take on the hosts at 3 p.m. before battling Southern Virginia at 5 p.m.

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