The Lancaster Bible College Women's Volleyball team hosted their Dig Pink match on Thursday night as they welcomed Messiah for a non-conference game, winning in five sets in front of an electric home crowd in the Horst Athletic Center. The Chargers improve to 9-9 overall and 5-1 in the United East while the Falcons drop to 11-8 overall and 3-1 in the MAC Commonwealth.
How it Happened:
The Chargers got off to an electric start in set one as they got out to a 9-0 lead, riding two service aces from
Madison Reap (Jr.) as they seized the momentum and made Messiah burn both timeouts. Two kills by
Lea Sareyka (Sr.) helped LBC to a 12-3 advantage, then
Jessica Fletcher (Sr.) had two kills on a four-point Chargers run for a 10-point lead at 17-7. Reap had another ace on another four-point burst from LBC, closing out an emphatic opening-set win at 25-11 to grab the early 1-0 match lead.
Sareyka and
Hannah Helmer (Fr.) each had kills as the Chargers grabbed a 4-0 lead in the second set, then Messiah battled back within one point before
Eden Belford (Sr.) landed a kill. Reap had another ace and
Eden Belford knocked a kill to cap a four-point spurt from the Chargers, then Sareyka had back-to-back kills for a 15-9 LBC advantage. After a four-point response from the Falcons, Helmer ended the run with a kill, then
Maggie Kwiatkowski (Jr.) had a service ace as the Chargers got the lead back to four at 21-17. Messiah battled back late to tie the set at 23 apiece, but an ace by Sareyka helped seal the 25-23 set win to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Messiah won the first two points of set three, but three straight Falcon errors put the Chargers up 3-2. The Falcons answered with a seven-point stretch to take a big 9-3 lead, then Sareyka had several kills to try and halt the momentum. The Chargers then won four of five points later in the set as
Eden Belford had back-to-back kills, then Reap had an ace to cap a three-point run and cut the lead to three. The Falcons ended the set with five of the final six points to extend the match and take set three 25-17.
The score was tied four times in the first five exchanges of set four as
Eden Belford had a block and a kill. Sareyka dropped a solo block to put the Chargers up 12-8, but the Falcons won five of the next six points to tie it back up at 13-13. The Chargers went back up two points before Messiah swung back ahead 18-17, then Fletcher tied the set on a kill. Fletcher then had an ace to swing LBC back in front 22-20, but the Falcons closed hot on a four-point run, ending with a service ace to take set four 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set in the HAC.
Kaitlyn Weitzel (Jr.) came in and landed a service ace as the Chargers took a 3-1 lead early in set five, but the Falcons tied it up at three on an ace of their own. Fletcher and Helmer each had kills as the teams traded blows, then Messiah pulled ahead 8-7 before the Chargers swung right back with three straight points, seeing two kills by Sareyka and one by
Chloe Belford (Sr.) as LBC led 10-8. The Falcons tied the set back up at 11-11, but a few points later, Fletcher landed a kill to get LBC to match point at 14-12. Messiah responded to force extra points and tie it up at 15-all, but a kill by
Samantha Hey (So.) and an error by the Falcons lit up the crowd and secured a 17-15 fifth-set win and the Chargers first-ever victory over Messiah.
By the Numbers:
Team Stats
- Kills: Messiah 54,
Lancaster Bible 59
- Digs: Messiah 67,
Lancaster Bible 69
- Blocks:
Messiah 11, Lancaster Bible 6
- Aces: Messiah 12, Lancaster Bible 12
Key Performances
-
Lea Sareyka:
20 Kills (career-high), 3 Aces, 2 Blocks
-
Jessica Fletcher: 12 Kills, .423 attack %
-
Madeline Reed: 25 Assists, 8 Digs
-
Madison Reap: 21 Digs, 6 Aces (season-high)
- Sydney Wolfe (MES): 20 Kills, 6 Blocks
- Clara Conner (MES): 44 Assists (match-high), 22 Digs (match-high)
Information to Know:
Tonight marks the Chargers' first victory over Messiah in program history in a series that dates back to the 2010 season. The Chargers have reached the .500 mark for the first time this season as they improve to 9-9 overall and improve to 2-2 in five-set matches this season with all four being played at home. The Chargers have tied their longest win streak of the season at three games.
Lea Sareyka made history tonight by becoming just the ninth player in program history to record 20 kills in a single match, the first since 2022 and the first at home since 2015.
Madison Reap moved into 14th all-time for the Chargers in career digs with 722, passing Rachel Olson (2011, '13) and Lauren (Donato) Daniels (2011-12) on the list, while also passing Mindy Srock (1994-96) for 16th-Place all-time in service aces with 131.
Eden Belford advanced into 12th-Place in program history in block assists tonight with 84, passing both Sukey Reed (2001-04) and Aleah Heyworth (2017-19).
Up Next:
The Chargers have an early morning match on Saturday, October 17 as they host Penn St. Brandywine at 10:00 a.m. in United East play.
