OWINGS MILLS, Md.– Eastern University Volleyball swept the Messiah College Falcons 3-0 in their second match of the day to salvage a split in the top flight of the MAC Crossover hosted by Stevenson University. The No. 13 Eagles (15-2) dropped the opening contest of the day to Stevenson in four sets.

The Eagles hit .275 as a team in the win over Messiah. Stephanie Elechko led the Eastern attack with 14 kills. Alicia Weigel added 13.

Eastern broke open the first set of that match with eight-of-nine points to grab an 18-10 lead. The Eagles picked up three of those eight points on blocks. Elechko finished the run with a solo block and kill. The Eagles held on for a 25-16 first set win. Weigel closed out the set with her fifth kill of the match. Eastern hit .361 in the opening set.

The Eagles jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but the Falcons (15-3) cut a five-point deficit to two at 17-15 and force an Eastern timeout. The timeout worked, and the Eagles earned a sideout and scored three points on Michelle Paulsen's serve. The Eagles claimed the second set, 25-18.

The Eagles scored four of the final five points of the match to close out the Falcons, 25-20. Rylie Haas had 21 digs and Morgan Kline finished with 38 assists.

"We started the Messiah match with better defense and quality serving." Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said. "We were able to get ahead of the play and force them into some tentative plays. We were able to get our Middles going which helped to open up our offense."

The Eagles jumped to an early lead in the first set of the opening match, but the host Mustangs (14-7) erased 21-17 deficit to earn a 26-24 win in the opening set.

The Eastern attack found a little more rhythm in the second set. The Eagles hit .270 and cruised to a 25-18 victory. Elechko had seven of Eastern's 14 kills in the set.

While the Eastern offense continued to hit at a steady .270 clip in the third set, they could not do anything to slow the Mustangs down. Stevenson hit. 400 and grabbed a 2-1 lead with a 25-18 win.

The Eagles put together a late run in the fourth set, but the Mustangs closed out the match with a 27-25 win. Weigel had 18 kills and Elechko put away 14. Haas added 25 digs and Kline finished with 47 assists.

The Eagles will host Manhattanville College on Tuesday night at 7 pm.