Eagles Roll Over Barclay, Outlasted by Manhattan

Ankeny, IA - Faith battled with the #1 ranked team in the NCCAA on Saturday and almost pulled off the upset. After rolling to a quick three-set victory over Barclay College on Friday (25-11, 25-13, 25-13), Faith came into their Saturday match poised and ready to challenge the top-ranked Thunder. 

In the opening set, it looked like the Thunder would roll to another victory, but Faith showed newfound grit and determination as they battled back to take set one 25-23. Building on that momentum, Faith looked like the better team for the first 23 points of set two, as they earned a 23-17 lead and looked like they were going to put Manhattan in a 2-0 hole. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the visitors showed why they are #1, as they turned the tables on the Eagles and battled back for their own 23-25 victory, notching the match at 1 apiece. Set three was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team taking any type of commanding lead. Faith ultimately held on and put the Thunder on the ropes with a 25-23 set three win. Manhattan came out very determined in set four and put the Eagles back on their heels. Faith was never able to fully recover and fell 19-25 in the fourth set. Manhattan was now rolling, while Faith was suffering from some limited player availability, and Manhattan took advantage, taking the set 15-7 and the match 3-2.

Codie Wirges and Rachel Forgie both had a big weekend for the Eagles. Both ladies had 27 total kills in the matches with Barclay and Manhattan. Wirges totaled 4 serving aces Friday night against Barclay and Forgie had 3 against Manhattan on Saturday. Maddie Hodak managed 19 digs Friday night and Belle Wirges had 22 of her own Saturday.

Faith is now 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference. They will return to action on Tuesday at 6 PM when they will host Emmaus Bible College, with a shot at conference regular season runner-up in play.