GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah College men's volleyball team picked up their sixth win of the season after they defeated Widener 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-15) on Saturday evening. Messiah moved to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
Overall, Messiah hit a .271 on the match, collecting 39 kills and 16 errors on 85 attempts. The Falcons also collected an impressive 10 service aces and stuffed five blocks. Widener struggled offensively and hit a .079 (20 kills, 14 errors) and gathered 19 assists.
Offensively, Brad Nase led the Falcons with 27 assists and Thomas Wood delivered 11 and scored three aces, all of which were in the third set. Nine different Falcons contributed kills on the stat sheet in the sweep over Widener. Jarred Sands led Messiah with eight kills, while Ian Parzyszek, Matt Knab, and Logan Hunsberger each terminated six. On the defensive side of things, Noah Shreiner collected three blocks and Caleb Weaver added eight digs.
Slow Start, Strong Finish
Messiah had a slow start to the match and Widener took advantage of that by going on a 6-2 scoring run. However, Messiah collected back-to-back kills from Matt Knab and Logan Hunsberger which led the Falcons on an 8-to-1 run (10-7). Throughout the middle of the set, back-and-forth action began but Messiah still held the advantage. At 17-13, Widener's setter Connor Johnson, dumped the ball for a point and then Messiah committed an attack error and the Pride found themselves within two points of the lead. Messiah called a timeout to regroup and they were able to close out the set with a 25-20 victory.
Although Messiah won the first set, they committed seven attack errors and five service errors. Widener on the other hand committed three attack errors and four service errors. However, the Falcons had a higher attack percentage (.231) and collected four aces.
Offensive Flow
Messiah found their rhythm in the second set and had an impressive offensive showing. They hit a .333 by collecting 14 kills on 30 attempts and only committing four errors. The Falcons opened up the second set with two-straight points after Jarred Sands and Travis Hoover picked up kills off of Brad Nase's sets. Widener responded with a kill of their own but once again Sands put a ball away for Messiah to his squad a 3-1 lead. Widener tied things up at 4-4 when middle Matt Blaum got a kill, however the Pride committed back-to-back errors to put Messiah back on top with a two-point lead (6-4). Eventually, the Falcons took off on a five-point run and which was started when Jarred Sands collected back-to-back kills. Logan Hunsberger ended the run with a successful attack to extend the Falcons' lead to 12-6. Messiah continued to build upon their advantage (18-9) but then Widener gained some momentum and went on a short three-point run. Messiah was able to side out, close the game on a 6-to-2 run, and grabbed a 2-0 advantage over the Pride going into the third and final set.
Secured the Sweep
The Falcons started with a new lineup in game three and it took a few points to find chemistry on the court. Messiah trailed 8-5 early in the set but a kill by Ian Parzyszek ignited the Falcons and they took off on a 10-0 scoring run. During this run, Thomas Wood was behind the service line for Messiah and he collected three service aces in a row. Widener was able to side out and score two-points consecutively and brought Messiah's lead down to 15-10. Ian Parzyszek then terminated the ball and delivered an ace to bring Messiah's lead up to seven. Messiah soared on a four-point run which consisted of two aces from Adam Black. The Pride still hung around and the two teams exchanged some points back-and-forth, but Ian Parzyszek finished the match picking up his sixth kill and leading his team to a 3-0 conference win over the Pride.
Next Up
The Falcons will be back in action when they travel to Alvernia University on Wednesday, Feb. 28. The match is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
