Grantham, Pennsylvania - The Oberlin College volleyball team wrapped up their weekend at the Messiah Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The Crimson and Gold fell to Messiah in five sets (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 20-25, 15-13) before dropping a three-set match (25-22, 25-17, 25-14) to SUNY Cortland to shift to 2-11 on the year. 

GAME ONE | Messiah

The first-year duo of Mara Geiger and Brylie Peters led the Oberlin attack with 14 and 13 kills, respectively, while senior Josie Macdonald tallied 12. Splitting the match as the setter, sophomore Genna Gauthier produced 20 assists while senior Jillian Jendsen added 17 assists and 11 digs. 

Leading the backline, Iris Archibald collected 17 digs while Peters finished with a career-high 16. Sophomore Evelyn Welton registered a career-high five blocks.

Evenly matched throughout the first set, neither team held more than a three-point advantage. Trailing 18-16, Oberlin recorded five of the next six points to pull ahead of Messiah 21-19, highlighted by kills from Geiger, Peters, and Macdonald. The Falcons reduced the margin to 23-22, but the Crimson and Gold delivered a final two points to clinch the first set 25-22. 

Producing a strong offense in the second frame, Messiah jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. The Yeowomen pushed to disrupt their momentum with back-to-back kills from Macdonald, reducing the margin to 16-12. The Falcons posted a six-point run to extend their lead to 22-12. Oberlin halted the scoring rally with a Macdonald kill, but Messiah was able to pull away with a 25-15 victory. 

Holding an 11-8 edge in the third session, the Falcons notched an 8-1 surge to increase their lead to 19-9. The Crimson and Gold were unable to find a consistent rhythm, dropping the set to the hosts. 

Aiming to regain control of the match, Oberlin opened the fourth stanza with an 8-4 lead. Messiah scored the next two points, but the Crimson and Gold responded with a four-point run to increase their edge to 12-6. Trailing 21-15, the Falcons produced five of the next six points to reduce their deficit to 22-20. Oberlin delivered a final push, capped off by an ace from Jendsen to claim the set 25-20, leading to a fifth set. 

Behind 10-6, the Crimson and Gold posted a 6-1 surge to pull ahead 12-11. Messiah collected the next three points, halted by their own service error, but were able to narrowly secure the set 15-13 and the five-set victory. 

GAME TWO | SUNY Cortland

Opening the match with a strong offensive force, Cortland jumped out to an early 6-3 advantage. Oberlin responded with a six-point rally to claim a 9-6 edge, highlighted by a pair of kills from Peters and an ace from Archibald. Trailing 18-14, a six-point run from the Red Dragons reclaimed their initial lead. The Crimson and Gold fought to stay in it, but Cortland took the first set 25-22. 

Holding a slight 12-9 advantage in the second set, the Red Dragons registered a 7-1 rally to extend their lead to 19-10. Behind 22-12, Oberlin produced a four-point run capped off with a kill from Gauthier to reduce the margin to 22-12. Unable to maintain their rhythm, Cortland pulled away with the 25-17 victory. 

The Red Dragons jumped out to an early 10-1 in the third frame. Back-to-back Cortland attack errors disrupted their run but were immediately followed by five unanswered points to increase their edge to 15-3. Unable to find their rhythm, the Crimson and Gold produced little resistance, allowing the Red Dragons to claim the set 25-14, securing the 3-0 sweep. 

The Crimson and Gold will open North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday, September 27, when they host DePauw. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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