GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah College men's volleyball team defeated the Lancaster Bible College Chargers 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23) on Wednesday evening in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons dropped the opening set 25-21, however they found their rhythm and went on to win the next three sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) to defeat the Chargers for the first time in program history. This was the Falcons' sixth-straight win of the season and they improved to 7-2 overall.

As a team, the Falcons hit a .294 after terminating 53 kills on 119 attempts with only making 18 errors and secured five service aces. 

Matt Knab had an outstanding performance delivering the ball and ended up with 46 assists on the evening. Three Falcons had double-digits in the kill column; Mason Nissley with 16, Ian Parzyszek added 14, while Luke Olson terminated 12. Caleb Weaver defended well and picked up 11 digs for the Falcons while Knab and Parzyszek each had seven.

Early Lead, Can't Hold On
The Falcons jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the opening set after Lancaster Bible committed back-to-back errors. However, the Chargers pieced together a 5-to-1 run to tie the game at 8-8. Messiah found some momentum yet again and went on a 4-to-1 spurt of their own, including a kill from Mason Nissley, to gain a 12-9 advantage. Lancaster Bible began to generate some offense late in the set and pulled ahead 21-18 after two straight kills from Kyran Flahive. Nonetheless, Messiah wasn't finished and scored back-to-back kills by Mason Nissley and a block from Nissley and Noah Shreiner to come within one point of the lead (22-21). Unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough and Lancaster Bible closed out the set with three-straight points (25-21) to take an early 1-0 lead in the match.

Overall, the Falcons struggled to terminate in the first set (.154) and only collected nine kills. However, Messiah began to heat up offensively after they switched sides with the Chargers.

Falcons Dominate Second Set
Messiah looked like a different team in the second set and scored a game high of 17 kills while attacking at an efficient rate (.414). They also held the Chargers to only seven kills in the second set. Once again, Messiah opened the game with an early 8-4 lead after a kill from Ian Parzyszek and an attack error by Lancaster Bible. The Chargers then tied the game up at 8-8 after scoring four-straight points. Luke Olson ended this run with a kill off of Matt Knab's set to regain the lead (9-8). The two teams began to side out back and forth, but then the Falcons leaped out on a 7-to-2 run to pull ahead 17-12. Noah Shreiner and Mason Nissley got this streak started with back-to-back kills, followed by a kill from opposite hitter Luke Olson. Ian Parzyszek and Mason Nissley completed the run by terminating the ball on consecutive possessions. Once again, some back-and-forth action began, but Messiah sided out and began to pull ahead 24-18 after back-to-back kills by Nissley. The Chargers scored two kills late in the set, but it was too late. Mason Nissley closed out the set with his 10th kill of the match to secure the 25-20 win.

Messiah Fights From Behind
The Falcons started the third set much like they ended the second and jumped out to a 6-3 lead. Lancaster Bible however made some adjustments to their line up and outscored Messiah 14-to-6 to take a 17-12 lead in the middle of the set. Nate Bowman ended the Chargers' run after a kill and ignited the Falcons on a scoring spree of their own. Messiah began to chip away at Lancaster Bible's lead and tied things up at 18-18. The Chargers answered with a kill to regain the lead, however Messiah scored on back-to-back plays including a block from Matt Knab and Noah Shreiner to take a 20-19 advantage. The Falcons continued to pull ahead and held a 24-22 advantage after a kill from Shreiner. The Chargers scored one point late in the set, but Messiah closed out with a 25-23 victory to pull ahead 2-1 in the match.

Falcons Make History
Messiah was up 11-10  after back-to-back kills by Olson and Parzyszek early in the fourth set. The two squads traded points back-and-forth throughout the middle of the set, but then the Chargers scored three-straight points to pull ahead 18-16. The Falcons battled back to tie the set at 19-19 and continued to maintain their momentum, building their lead to 22-20 after a 3-to-1 run with Adam Black on the service line. An error from the Falcons narrowed the margin to just one-point (22-21), however a kill by Ian Parzyszek put Messiah back on top, 23-21. The two squads traded points late in the set, yet a kill from Luke Olson gave Messiah a 25-23 win and a 3-1 victory over the Chargers. As previously mentioned, this is the first time in program history that Messiah has defeated Lancaster Bible.

Up Next
The Falcons will get a week of rest and will return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Messiah will travel to Penn-State Altoona for a 7:00 p.m. start time.