GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's volleyball team opened conference play with a pair of victories after hosting the Misericordia Cougars and Widener Pride on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons started the day with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18) victory over the Cougars before finishing the tri-match with a commanding 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-19) sweep of the Pride. The two victories moved the Falcons to 5-4 overall and started the Falcons with a perfect 2-0 mark in the conference.
 
Despite not playing in the second match of the day, Matt Knab led the team with 19 kills while also collecting 10 digs in the first match for a double-double. Caleb Weaver led the Falcons with 19 digs across the two matches while the Falcons as a team registered 18 service aces.
 
Messiah will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the Eastern Eagles on Tuesday evening for a match beginning at 7:00 p.m.
 
Messiah defeats Misericordia - 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18)
The Messiah men's volleyball team opened up the 2019 conference slate with a 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 25-18) victory over the Misericordia Cougars on Saturday afternoon. Messiah notched their third match of the season with a hitting percentage north of .300 with 50 kills and 16 errors on 113 swings, good for a .301 clip.
 
Messiah trailed early in the opening set against the Cougars at 5-3, but an 8-1 run helped turn the tide and put the Falcons in the driver's seat for the remainder of the set. During the streak, Matt Knab collected three-straight service aces as well as a pair of kills to help fuel the set-changing run. The Cougars pulled within two points on two occasions, but Messiah held off the pushes, eventually closing the set out with a 4-1 run. Noah Shreiner put the finishing touches on a 25-19 opening-set win with a kill off a pass from Brad Nase.
 
The second set felt tilted in the Cougars' direction for a majority of the game, as Misericordia held leads of 9-5, 13-10, and 15-12 through the early portion of the half. After trailing by three at 15-12, Messiah picked up three-straight points thanks to a Cougars' error and a pair of Knab service aces to level the score at 15-15. After trading punches for the next few points, the Cougars held a slim 19-18 lead, but the Falcons scored three-straight off kills to take the lead back. After trading the final eight points of the set, Messiah came out on top with the 25-223 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Messiah trailed 14-10 midway through the third set, and despite a 6-1 Messiah run that put the Falcons up 16-15, the Cougars stayed alive in the match with a 25-22 set win. Misericordia finished the set on an 8-4 run to force a fourth set.
 
In the fourth set, Messiah built a 16-8 lead midway through the game and comfortably cruised to the 25-18 victory in the set to seal their first conference win of the season.
 
Messiah defeats Widener - 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-19)
The Falcons overwhelmed the Widener Pride in the first two sets of their 3-0 (25-11, 25-7, 25-19) sweep on Saturday afternoon. Messiah hit at a .389 clip in the first set of the match to run away with a 25-11 victory in the set. The Falcons earned fourth different runs of at least three-straight points, including a 7-0 stretch in the middle of the set that turned a 12-9 lead into a 19-9 advantage. Noah Shreiner picked up four kills on four swings from the middle to highlight the strong Messiah effort in the set.
 
While the Falcons hit at a slightly lower rate in the second set (.167 hitting percentage), they forced Widener to earn just one kill with 13 errors on 25 swings for a -.480 hitting percentage. Messiah finished the set on a 17-2 run to earn the dominate 25-7 victory in the set.
 
With a 2-0 lead, Messiah showed their depth in the third set, closing out the match with a 25-19 win in the set. Once again, the Falcons used a sizable run in the middle of the set to pull ahead. In the third set it was an 11-2 Messiah streak that propelled them to take the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.
 
In total, nine different Falcons collected kills in the match with Jared Keul setting a majority of those kills with 14 assists. Will Webb finished the match with four service aces while Noah Wilson and Jarred Sands each earned two aces.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will next take the floor on Tuesday night when they host the Eastern Eagles at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday's meeting will be the first between the two young programs as Eastern is in its inaugural season of men's volleyball. The Eagles hold a 4-1 record this season.