NEWARK, N.J. – NEWARK, N.J. – Messiah men's volleyball split in their tri-match at Rutgers-Newark on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons defeated the College of Mount Saint Vincent in three-straight sets (25-6, 25-14, 25-10) in their first match of the day. However, they fell to the host team, Rutgers-Newark 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 26-24) in the final match. The Falcons moved to 1-2 on the season and will look to bounce back when they take on Elizabethtown College on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Messiah Defeats College of Mount Saint Vincent - 3-0 (25-6, 25-14, 25-10)
As a team, Messiah hit a .413 (29 kills, 10 errors, or 46 attempts) and picked up 14 service aces in their opening match of the day. Matt Schaefer led the way with eight kills, while Ian Parzyszek collected seven. Parzyszek also had an impressive performance from the serving line, collecting four aces. Jared Keul steadied the Falcons' attack with 20 assists.

Messiah opened up the first set with an early 7-1 lead over the Dolphins. Mount Saint Vincent collected back-to-back points off of two Falcon errors (7-3), nonetheless Messiah was able to side out and leap to a 13-to-1 run to pull ahead 20-4. Late in the set, the Dolphins collected their only kill in the first set (20-5), yet once again Messiah's aggressive offense led them to a 25-6 victory in the first set. Nate Bowman led the way for Messiah with three kills, while Noah Shreiner had three aces. As a team, Messiah collected six of their total 14 aces in the opening set.

The second set began with some back-and-forth action and the score was tied at 5-5. Messiah started to generate some chemistry and scored eight-straight points to take a 13-5 advantage. During this run, Ian Parzyszek collected an ace, Matt Schaefer and Will Webb each terminated two kills, while the Dolphins made three errors. Mount Saint Vincent started to chip away at the Falcon's lead and brought it down to five points (17-12), however Messiah responded on an 8-to-2 run to close out the set 25-14. Matt Schaefer collected five of his total eight kills in the second set. 

The third set was similar to the first, with Messiah's offense and defense controlling the match. The Falcons' defensive only allowed one kill from the Dolphins in the third game. Offensively, the Falcons hit a .462, collecting nine kills and only three errors.

Rutgers-Newark Defeats Messiah - 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 26-24)
Messiah had a strong start to the match, defeating the Scarlet Raiders 25-20 and hitting an impressive .400 in the opening set. Rutgers-Newark won the next three sets (25-17, 25-20, 26-24) to claim the match. Overall, the Falcons hit a .159 (35 kills, 21 errors, 88 attempts) on the match and collected nine blocks, 27 digs, and 34 assists. Matt Knab had a standout performance with 21 assists, six blocks, and three aces. Matt Schaefer led the Falcons with eight kills and added two blocks, while Noah Shreiner and Luke Olson each collected seven kills. Nate Bowman (.429) was efficient offensively and collected six blocks at the net. Caleb Weaver led the Falcons' defensive line with eight digs, while Olson added five. 

The opening set was competitive and consisted of a lot of back-and-forth action from both squads. The game was tied at 7-7, but then Messiah began to pull ahead after scoring three-straight points, including a block from Matt Knab and Noah Shreiner followed by solo block from Knab. The Falcons slowly pulled away and gained an 18-13 lead after another monster block from Knab. The Scarlet Raiders had a surge of momentum late in the set and tied the game up at 19-19 after collecting back-to-back kills. The Falcons responded with a kill from Noah Shreiner and closed out the set on a 5-to-1 run to secure the 25-20 victory and to take a 1-0 lead in the match.  Luke Olson led Messiah with three kills, while Matt Knab picked up four block in the opening game.

At the start of the second set, the Falcons were trailing the Scarlet Raiders 5-0. After a quick timeout the Falcons started to chip away and came within two points of the lead (12-10) after an ace from Matt Knab. Nevertheless, the Scarlet Raiders remained steady on the attack, scoring three-straight points to pull ahead 16-11. The two teams traded points back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the set and Rutgers-Newark tied the match (1-1) after winning game two, 25-17.

The Scarlet Raiders had an 18-9 advantage in the third set, however the score didn't affect the hustle and effort that Messiah displayed. The Falcons continued to battle and fight to stay in the game. A kill from Marshall Nixon ignited Messiah on a 7-to-3 run to bring Rutgers-Newark's lead down to five (21-16). During this run, Messiah's defensive effort at the net and in the backrow was incredible. They picked up four blocks, including three from middle Nate Bowman. Although the Falcons showed fight late in the set, it wouldn't be enough and the Scarlet Raiders pulled ahead 2-1 after a 25-20 win in the third set. The Falcons struggled to score offensively in the third game, collecting only six kills and committing six errors.

Messiah was unable to hold on in the fourth set and dropped a close 26-24 set to the Scarlet Raiders. The Falcons opened up with an early 5-1 lead after a beautiful dish from Matt Knab to Luke Olson who terminated the ball down the line. Messiah continued to extend their lead to 7-2 after another block from Matt Schaefer and Nate Bowman. The two teams then began to trade points back and forth, however Rutgers-Newark took the lead at 14-13 after scoring five-straight points. Messiah ended the run with another kill from Schaefer, yet the Scarlet Raiders continued to pull ahead and held a four-point (21-17) lead late in the set. Once again, Messiah began to show resilience and battled their way back in the game and tied things up at 22-22 after a service ace from Matt Knab. The score was tied two more times (23-23, 24-24) after kills from Noah Shreiner and Luke Olson, however two-consecutive points from Rutgers-Newark sealed their 26-24 victory.

Up Next
Messiah will travel to Elizabethtown College on Tuesday, Jan. 28 for an 8:00 p.m. start.  The last time these two teams met was on Mar. 2, 2019. The Falcons swept the Blue Jays 3-0 (25-19, 25-13, 25-17).