GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Neumann University women's volleyball team battled in two matches against Messiah College and Dickinson College on Saturday. The Knights fell in both matches 3-0.
 
In the first match against the host Falcons, Maria Brown and Regan Hickey each had six kills. Dani Smith handed out 18 assists and notched 11 digs. Tori Burgess tallied 13 digs.
 
In the first set, Messiah held the edge for most of the set. Down 24-20, the Knights were able to score three straight points to pull within one, 24-23. However, a Falcon kill gave Messiah a 25-23 set one win.
 
The Falcons won the second set 25-15. Messiah used a 10-point run in the third set to take it 25-14 and win the match 3-0.
 
Against Dickinson, Lauren Garvey, Anna Mansel and Hickey each had eight kills. Smith dished out 25 assists. Three Knights tallied double-digit digs, led by Claudia Bournazel with 14, Hickey with 12 and Smith 11.
 
The Red Devils started the match by scoring the first three points. The Knights came back and notched seven of the next eight to take a 7-4 lead. The teams went back and forth all the way to the end, but Dickinson was able to notch two straight points for the 25-22 set one win.
 
The Knights took the early 3-0 in the second set. The Red Devils came back and took a 10-9 lead. With Neumann leading 20-18, Dickinson rallied off five straight points to take a 23-20 edge. That was enough to put give the Red Devils a 25-21 set two win.
 
Set three started out with the teams continuing to battle back and forth. Holding a 14-12 edge, Dickinson went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-21 lead. The Knights tallied four of the next six points for a 23-18 game. The teams traded the next four points, but it was enough for the Red Devils to take the final set 25-20.
 
Neumann (0-7) will open its home schedule on Wednesday when it welcomes St. Mary's College of Maryland. Action is slated to get underway at 7:00 PM.