OWINGS MILLS, Md. – The Messiah College men's volleyball team returned to the Middle Atlantic Conference semifinal for the second-straight season on Wednesday evening. The third-seeded Falcons battled the second-seeded Mustangs and were defeated 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-21).

Messiah ends their season with an overall record of 19-11 and a third-place finish in the conference regular season with a record of 9-5. Stevenson, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the AVCA Top-15 poll, moved to 30-3 overall and will travel to top-seeded Arcadia University on Saturday to compete in the MAC championship match.

Brad Nase controlled the tempo for the Falcons and delivered 28 assists on the evening. Matt Knab and Will Webb each terminated nine kills, while Noah Shreiner and Ian Parzyszek each had four. Knab also tallied eight digs and Caleb Weaver collected five. Offensively, the Falcons clipped a .267 on the match, including a game high of .381 in the first set. However, Stevenson was more efficient in their net play hitting a .432 on the match, only committing eight errors in three sets.

Falcons Battle Early In First Set
Messiah was ready to battle in the first set and opened with a 2-1 lead after a kill from Will Webb and an error by the Mustangs. However, Stevenson fought back with their top server, Landon Shorts, on the service line and the Mustangs began to pull ahead. Messiah, on the other hand, struggled to connect on their serves and committed four service errors early in the set. The Mustangs took off on a 13-to-5 scoring spree to take a 19-10 lead over the Falcons. However, a kill from Matt Knab and an error by the Mustangs gave Messiah some room to battle back. Marshall Nixon collected a kill and back-to-back aces to generate some momentum for the Falcons (21-15), however Stevenson sided out and stayed steady throughout the rest of the set to claim a 25-18 victory.

Mustangs Take Advantage of Offensive Errors
Stevenson jumped out to an early 7-3 lead over the Falcons, however Marshall Nixon terminated in the middle to try to spark the Falcons' offense. They were able to bring the Mustangs' lead down to two points (7-5), nevertheless Stevenson started to pull ahead after back-to-back errors from Messiah which triggered a 5-to-0 run (13-5). The Falcons pieced together 4-to-1 run of their own to chip away at the Mustangs' advantage (14-9). This run was led by Brad Nase and Will Webb as they connected on back-to-back kills. The side-out battle began for both teams throughout the middle of the set, but Stevenson's lead was large enough that they secured the 25-16 victory. Messiah struggled to produce offensively against the Mustangs' tough serves and decent block. However, the Falcons would look to bounce back in the third set.

Messiah Battles For Every Point
The Falcons looked like a different team in the third set. They displayed urgency, determination, and didn't take any plays off. Ian Parzyszek got things started with a big kill at the beginning of the third set and Messiah took an early 2-0 lead. The Mustangs scored three-straight points to go up 3-2, but after a service error the game was tied at 3-3. Stevenson started to pull ahead again and went on a 6-to-2 run to gain a four-point (9-5) advantage. However, Messiah answered on an electrifying 5-to-1 run to tie the game up at 10-10. This run consisted of four Mustang errors and a kill from Ian Parzyszek. Stevenson then collected three-straight points to pull ahead 13-10, however the Falcons weren't done. Messiah continued to fight and a huge block from Matt Knab and Noah Shreiner brought the Mustangs' lead down to one, 14-13. Back-and-forth action continued from both squads, yet after back-to-back points by Stevenson, the Mustangs pulled ahead 20-17. Messiah called a timeout to talk things over and following the break the Mustangs missed their serve. The Falcons were back within two points of the lead. Once again, the teams clashed and exchanged points, but after dominating the net play Stevenson pulled ahead 24-21. The Mustangs closed out the match with a kill off an overpass to pick up a 25-21 victory and to sweep the Falcons 3-0. As previously mentioned, Stevenson will take on Arcadia in the Middle Atlantic Conference championship on Saturday.

Season Recap
The Falcons captured a program best of 19 wins this season and returned to the Middle Atlantic Conference tournament for the second-straight year. Messiah had a slower start to the season but picked it up with a six-game win streak throughout the middle of February. The Falcons went on another six-match winning spree in the month of March including two non-conference sweeps over Vassar College and the University of Mount Union. Messiah closed out the regular season with a big 3-0 win over Misericordia to claim the No. 3 seed entering the conference tournament. Head Coach Justin Beachy also received the AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award for his success at the helm of the program.