GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah College men's volleyball team defeated the Penn State Altoona Lions in a five-set thriller on Jordan Court Wednesday evening. The Falcons dropped the first set 25-22 but battled back to pick up a 25-22 victory in set two. The Lions had a dominant effort in the third set and won 25-14, however the Falcons soared to win the fourth 25-18. Messiah kept their foot on the gas to claim the fifth set 15-6, and win the match 3-2. The Falcons moved to 11-7 overall while PSU Altoona fell to 8-9.

Jared Keul and Adam Black led Messiah on the stat sheet, both having double-double performances. Keul collected 12 digs, 10 kills, three blocks, and two aces in the evening, while Black picked up 12 kills, 10 kills, and two aces. Brad Nase set the tempo with 40 assists and he also terminated four kills. Noah Shreiner and Marshall Nixon were dominant at the net each collecting three blocks and Shreiner added nine kills.

Battle In the First
Both teams had great offensive starts to the match in the first set, hitting game highs of .259 (Messiah) and .455 (PSU Altoona).
 
The Falcons had a hot start and led 5-1 in the first set after collecting four kills and an error from the Lions. However, PSU Altoona went on a 5-to-0 run to pull ahead 6-5. The game then turned into a side out battle until Messiah pieced together another 5-to-1 run to pull ahead 14-11 in the middle of the set. The Lions went on and tied up the set at 16-16 after a kill and an ace and the battle continued. The score was tied up four more times (17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 20-20) at the end of the set but PSU Altoona closed out on a 5-to-2 run to win 25-22.
 
Falcons Bounce Back
Messiah bounced back in the second set winning it 25-22 to even up the match at 1-1. The Falcons took a 9-6 lead after scoring four-straight points including a block from Marshall Nixon, however the Lions picked up four points of their own to regain the lead 10-9. Marshall Nixon responded with a kill to tie the game up and ignited the Falcons on a 6-to-2 run to pull ahead 15-12. Messiah continued to stay on top with a four point lead after two kills from Will Webb and Adam Black and an error from PSU Altoona, however the Lions went on a 5-to-2 run to cut the Falcons' lead down to one-point (20-19). The two teams exchanged points back-and-forth late in the set (22-21) but Adam Black collected two straight kills to give Messiah a 24-21 advantage. The Falcons soared to a 25-22 victory after a service error by the Lions.
 
Lions Dominate Third
PSU Altoona responded with a gutsy performance in the third game to pull ahead 2-1 in the match. Messiah struggled to find any rhythm offensively in the third set, hitting -.029 with only 10 kills on 34 attempts with 11 errors. The Lions had an early 8-4 lead over the Falcons after five errors by Messiah. Noah Shreiner sided out for the Falcons to narrow the lead to three points, however PSU Altoona went on a 6-to-2 to pull ahead 14-7. The Falcons pieced together two-straight points including a kill from Jared Keul but once again the Lions responded to take a 23-12 advantage. Messiah picked up two more points late in the set, but PSU Altoona secured the 25-14 win going into the fourth game.
 
Messiah Evens Things Up
The Falcons jumped out to a commanding five-point lead (10-5) after scoring three-straight points, including kills from Noah Shreiner and Jared Keul, both assisted by Brad Nase. The two teams started to battle and PSU Altoona brought Messiah's lead down to two 13-11 midway through the set. However, the Falcons answered with three-consecutive points to take a 16-11 lead. Noah Shreiner got this run started with a kill in the middle, while Jared Keul finished the run with a kill on the left pin. The Lions didn't stop fighting and slowly brought Messiah's lead down to two points (19-17), however the Falcons closed out the set on a 6-to-1 run to win set four 25-18 and to send the game into a tie-breaking fifth set.
 
Falcons Fly In The Fifth
Although the Lions opened with an early 2-0 lead, Messiah scored six-straight points to take a 6-2 lead. During this scoring spree, Marshall Nixon picked up two crucial blocks in the middle while Will Webb collected two kills. PSU Altoona responded with three-straight points to narrow Messiah's lead to one point (6-5). However, the Falcons cruised to victory on a 9-to-1 run to close out the set 15-6 and to win the match 3-2.
 
Up Next
Messiah will return to Jordan Court on Mar. 15 when they take on MAC opponent Wilkes University at 7:00 p.m. They will then turn around and host Randolph-Macon College and Widener University in a tri-match on Saturday, Mar. 16.