ST. DAVIDS, Pa.– In election-night battle for the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth, Eastern University Women's Volleyball dropped a five-set decision to the visiting Messiah University Falcons. The loss drops the Eagles (17-8, 6-1) into the second spot in the league standings and will have them hosting York College of Pennsylvania in the opening round of the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Hannah Pringle finished with a match-high 17 kills, but in a match with tremendous defense on both sides, the team hit just .108 for the match. 

In the final set, the Falcons took a 9-4 lead on a seven-point run with libero Caitlin Liebriedis serving. The Eagles traded points the rest of the way, but it was not enough to claim the race to 15. The Eagles had only four kills in falling 15-10 in the final frame. 

The Eagles forced a fifth set after falling behind 2-1 in sets and and 11-6 in the fourth set. Trinity Gruber flipped the score with a ten-point run at the line. In the streak, the Eagles kept balls alive and forced errors. Bridgette Kelly had a kill and three blocks in the burst. The senior middle hitter finished with 12 kills, seven blocks, and an ace. She and Pringle each had three kills in helping the Eagles to grab a 25-19 win.

Eastern won the opening set 27-25 after trailing 24-22. Pringle and Kelly combined ona block to fight off the first set point, and Kelly put away a kill to fight off the second. After the two teams traded sideouts, Kelly again made an impact with a block and a kill for the opening-set win. 

The Eagles led 24-23 in the second, but the Falcons fought off a set point with an out-of-system kill from Chayney Barnhart. The Falcons kept the set alive, and the Eagles ran through their allotment of subs in the set. The Falcons took advantage and scored the final two points of the frame to even the match with a 27-25 win. 

Eastern played from behind for much of the third set but briefly grabbed the lead at 18-17 on a Jailene Lugo kill. The Falcons found their form with a four-point serving run and the teams traded sidouts to the finish. 

The Eagles finished the contest with a season-high 213 attacks. Both teams posted 104 digs. Grace Casagrande picked up 38, and Liebriedis had 33. Four other Eastern players, Grace Cooper, Viviana Fragoso, Elle Jiron-Bujanda, and Gruber all had double-digit digs in the match. The Falcons hit just .124 for the contest. 

"Messiah played a really strong game tonight and made big plays when they needed to, "Head Coach Mark Birtwistle said after the match."I thought both teams defended really well and the match was close throughout. Bridgette was effective both offensively and defensively for us tonight."

The Eagles will host Rowan University in their regular-season finale on Friday night. The program will honor its senior class before the contest. Tonight's loss was just the second in the league for the Eastern senior class. They dropped a five-set test at Messiah in October of 2021. The Falcons will take on the winner of tomorrow night's match between Widener and Stevenson.