DALLAS, Pa. - The Messiah men's volleyball team picked up their first win of the 2019 season on Wednesday night with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 26-24) victory over the Misericordia Cougars. The Flacons hit at a .320 clip as a team (47-100) while holding the Cougars to a .229 hitting percentage in the four-set match.

Messiah claimed the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-17, respectively, but the Cougars battled back in the third set. Misericordia held off the Falcons in the third set by a 25-23 score to force a fourth, and what turned out to be final, set. It was close the whole way through the final set, but the visiting Falcons prevailed, claiming the game 26-24 and the match 3-1.

Matt Knab led all players with 18 kills on a .375 hitting percentage while Brad Nase dished out a team-high 24 assists and Caleb Weaver collected nine digs.

Taking the First Two Sets
Messiah made just four attacking errors in the first two sets while hitting at a .404 clip to control play and take a 2-0 lead. In the opening set, Messiah held a 7-6 lead before a Will Webb kill from Isaiah Han sparked a 6-2 Messiah run to take a 13-8 advantage. After trading the next five points, Messiah led 15-12 before Jarred Sands took over. The senior accounted for three of the next four points with a kill and a pair of service aces to fuel a four-point Messiah streak.

The Falcons held a 19-12 lead after the second-straight Sands ace, but the Cougars battled back with a 5-1 run to pull within three at 20-17. Messiah held their composure and capped off the set with a 5-1 run of their own to earn the set 25-18.

Much like the opening set, the second game remained close with Messiah leading by just two at 15-13, following a service error. That was as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the game as the Falcons rattled off five-straight points and 10 of the last 14 to take the set 25-17. As a team, Messiah collected 10 kills in the set on 18 swings without an error for a stellar .556 hitting percentage.

Cougars Fight Back
Playing in their season opener, Misericordia battled back to win their first set of the year in the third, 25-23. The Cougars overcame a stretch of four errors in the span of five points to claim the set. Misericordia's error prone stretch came in the middle of the set and seemed to put the Falcons in the driver's seat with a 16-14 lead, but Misericordia responded with four-straight points to take control back at 18-16 before the two sides traded the final 14 points of set.

Falcons Prevail
In fourth set, it was the Cougars that jumped out to an early advantage. Messiah trailed 13-10 midway through the set, but the Falcons cut into the deficit with a 7-3 run to take the lead at 17-16. Misericordia won the next two points to take the lead back at 18-17, but that was the last time the Cougars would hold the lead as the Falcons finished the set on a 9-6 run. Matt Knab and Jarred Sands each collected two kills during the final push and Isaiah Han delivered the final kill of the match to give Messiah the 26-24 set win and 3-1 match victory.

What's Up Next
With the 3-1 victory, Messiah levels their record to 1-1 on the young season. The Falcons' extended road trip to start the 2019 campaign will take Messiah to Kean Tournament this Saturday in Union, N.J. The Falcons will take on No. 11 North Central at 11:00 a.m. and Hunter College at 5:00 p.m.