The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team hosted the Messiah Falcons in a thrilling five-set match late Thursday night, with the Falcons coming away with the victory, 3-2. Suffering their first loss of 2024, the Chargers move to 5-1 overall while the Falcons improve to 3-2 on the season.

How It Happened: The intensity was there from the start as the Chargers battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to take the lead 11-10. The Chargers grew their lead to as much as 15-11 but the Falcons stayed within one or two points for the entirety of the set. Despite a 23-23 tie, the Chargers sent the gym roaring after a Riley Dodrer kill won the first set 25-23.

The second set was no different as the Falcons once again took an early lead before a string of seven consecutive Chargers points reclaimed the lead 12-10. Another five consecutive points from the Chargers brought the lead to 23-19 as the Chargers went to win the second set 25-23.

With the Chargers looking to close the game in the third set, the Falcons weren't going to be outdone, winning the third set 26-24. The third set was tied at the 22^nd point, 23^rd point, and 24^th point. As momentum began to shift the Chargers looked to capitalize on the set advantage. Continuing to trade points and mistakes with the Falcons, it was the Falcons who managed to come away with the last two victories 25-23 and 15-12.

By the Numbers: The Chargers had 56 kills to the Falcons' 63… the Chargers won in aces 6-3… the Falcons had nine total blocks to the Chargers' six blocks… both teams eclipsed 100 digs for the game… Lea Sareyka had a team-high 14 kills… Eden Belford and Riley Dodrer had 12 and 10 respectively… Eden Belford added four blocks while Madeline Reed had 31 assists… Leah Helman had a game-high 40 digs… Sarah Hart had a game-high 20 kills.

Information to Know: Senior libero Leah Helman had a career-high in digs with 40, becoming just the second player in program history to record 40 digs in a single match… her previous career-high was 34 digs on October 6, 2022 in a 3-1 win over FDU-Florham. Helman also moved into 4th place all-time in career digs with 1,411. The Chargers' 107 digs is tied for the sixth-most in a single match in program history.

Up Next: The Chargers have the weekend off before heading to Penn St. Brandywine on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m.