GLENSIDE, Pa. - Despite trailing two-sets-to-none early in Wednesday night's MAC Commonwealth semifinal matchup against third-seed Messiah, the second-seeded Arcadia University women's volleyball team rallied back to force a deciding fifth set and clinched a trip to its third-consecutive conference title match with a 15-10 victory in the fifth. Shannon Ryan paced the Knights with a team-high 16 kills and a match-high nine aces, while Julia Paliwodzinski contributed 43 assists and 14 digs in the victory.

The Knights advance to take on top-seeded Stevenson in the MAC Commonwealth Championship match for the third-consecutive season, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Stevenson.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-The Knights' lone lead of the first set came at 4-3 before the Falcons took control from then on, including an 8-0 run to cap off a 25-16 win in the opener.
-Arcadia faced a similar fate in the second set as the Falcons took an early advantage before winning nine of the final 14 points in a 25-17 victory to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
-The Knights raced out to a 17-9 lead in the third set with their season on the line powered by five Ryan aces. The Falcons battled back to get within two at 22-20, but the Allison Elechko capped off the set with a pair of kills to lead the Knights to a 25-22 triumph.
-Arcadia carried that momentum into the fourth set by earning 12 of the set's 14 points as Lauren Enfield logged a pair of kills. The Knights went on to take a 20-9 lead in the latter stages before a 4-1 run sent the match to a deciding fifth set.
-Elechko and Ryan each had kills to vault the Knights to a 5-2 advantage in the early going before the Falcons fought back to knot the set at five-all. The two sides traded points to arrive at a 9-9 tie, but the Knights ripped off a 5-0 run to hold serve at match point when Enfield provided the clinching kill to send Arcadia to the MAC Commonwealth Championship.

KNIGHT LEADERS
-Kills: Ryan 16, Enfield 13
-Aces: Ryan 9
-Blocks: Sehrt 4, Enfield 2
-Assists: Paliwodzinski 43
-Digs: Eng 20, Paliwodzinski 14

TEAM COMPARISON
-The Knights edged the Falcons in kills, 56-55.
-Arcadia finished the night with 15 service aces while limiting Messiah to five.
-The Knights logged five kills opposite the Falcons' four.

UP NEXT
Arcadia (17-13) advances to the MAC Commonwealth Championship match for the third-consecutive season at top-seeded Stevenson scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday.