Box Score

In her final career home game Laura van Bendegem had a team-high seven kills and a .400 hitting percentage, but it wasn't enough as the Albright College volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-19) to Messiah on the Lions' Senior Day.

Sophomore Morgan Heath had four service aces and 19 assists, while Alexa Jones (13) and Christa Mantz (10) each registered double-digits digs in the loss.

Albright fell behind 6-1 in the opening set after a pair of service aces by Lindsay King, but Heath stopped the run by sneaking a placed kill just inside the backline. Van Bendegem soon added two straight kills, the second following a nice dig by freshman Brandy Blimline.

A good kill from Heath made it 13-7 Messiah, but Albright couldn't climb back into the game. The Lions were competitive early in the second game, with Heath's ace tying it at 3-3 and van Bendegem's kill keeping them within one at 5-4.

Erin Wentzel and Megan Wise traded service aces midway through the game, and Albright stayed within two points with a kills from Mantz and a block assist from Heath and Alyssa Hoogendoorn that made it 12-10 Messiah.

The Falcons surged again in the second half of the set however, running off 11 of the next 13 points despite a pair of kills from van Bendegem.

Albright continued to improve in game three, rallying from a 9-5 deficit to tie at 10-10 on Heath's assist to Mantz. A pair of service errors prevented the Lions from taking the lead on two consecutive occasions however.

Albright did get back into contention through the serving game, as two straight aces from Heath were soon followed by a Messiah service error that had the hosts within one. The Falcons scored the next five points though, and soon locked up the sweep.

Senior Meg Wheeler also played her final home game for the red and white, recording one kill and one block. The Lions fall to 8-18, 2-4 and are a game behind Lycoming for the final Commonwealth playoff spot, with a trip to face the Warriors looming in one week's time.