GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah College men's volleyball hosted a home tri-match with Southern Virginia University and Penn State Behrend on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons fell to the Southern Virginia Knights in a five-set thriller (26-24, 22-25, 25-27, 25-13, 15-10), but responded in the second match, sweeping the Lions from Penn State Behrend 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24).

Southern Virginia Defeats Messiah 3-2 (26-24, 25-27, 22-25, 25-13, 15-10)
Messiah dropped the opening set 26-24, however they battled back and won a close second set, 27-25. The Falcons carried the momentum into the third set, winning it 25-22, however they weren't able to hold on and fell in the fourth (25-13) and fifth (15-10) sets.

Ian Parzyszek led the Falcons with 15 kills, while Mason Nissley terminated 12. Matt Knab steadied the offense with 42 assists and Caleb Weaver led the defense with 15 digs

The Falcons opened up with an early 3-1 lead over the Knights after a kill from Noah Shreiner and back-to-back errors from Southern Virginia. The two teams then battled back-and-forth and the Knights tied things up at 5-5. Messiah started to pull away on a 5-to-3 run to take a 10-7 lead over Southern Virginia. The middle of the set remained competitive but after a powerful kill from Mason Nissley, Messiah took a 20-18 advantage. The Knights then pieced together a 4-to-1 run to pull ahead 22-21. Back-to-back kills from Luke Olson and Ian Parzyszek put the Falcons back on top, however Southern Virginia closed out the set on a 4-to-1 run to claim the first set 26-24.

The Falcons responded in the second set defeating the Knights 25-22. Messiah also collected a game-high of 13 kills in set two, while holding the Knights to just eight. Despite trailing 9-7 early in the set, Messiah connected three-straight possessions to take a 10-9 advantage. This run started with a service error from Southern Virginia followed by two blocks from the Falcons. Both teams continued to side out and the Knights had a slight advantage (14-12) in the middle of the set. Messiah then ignited on a 5-to-0 run with Will Webb on the service line to take a three point lead over the Knights (17-14). Ian Parzyszek collected three kills during this scoring spree. Once again, the two teams started to battle and the Knights came within one-point of the lead (23-22), yet the Falcons remained steady and finished the set off with two-straight points to tie the match at 1-1.

Messiah was down 16-13 in the middle of the third set, but the momentum started to shift. The Falcons scored five-straight points to pull ahead 18-16, including back-to-back aces from Ian Parzyszek. Messiah and Southern Virginia then traded three-point runs, and Messiah still had the upper hand at 21-19. The Knights began to chip away at the Falcons' lead by going on 4-to-1 run late in the set, however the Falcons responded with a kill from Luke Olson and a block from Noah Shreiner and Olson, to take a 24-23 lead. The Knights tied things up and the two teams exchanged points. The score was tied once again at 25-25, but back-to-back kills from Ian Parzyszek and Nate Bowman sealed the deal for Messiah (27-25) and they would pull ahead 2-1.

Messiah and Southern Virginia were tied (8-8) early in the fourth set, however the Knights leaped out on an 8-to-1 run to gain a 16-9 advantage. Southern Virginia carried the momentum throughout the rest of the set and secured a 25-13 victory to tie the match at 2-2.

Messiah trailed early in the fifth and final set (6-2), however they found a spark and went on a 4-to-1 run to come within one point of the lead 7-6. The Knights answered with a 4-to-1 surge of their own and took a 10-6 advantage. After two errors by Southern Virginia and a kill from Mason Nissley, the Falcons were two-points from the lead (11-9). The Knights remained steady and closed out the set 15-10 to win the five-set thriller 3-2.

Messiah Defeats Penn State Behrend 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24)
The Falcons bounced back in their second match of the day, sweeping the Penn State Behrend Lions 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24). Outside hitters, Mason Nissley and Ian Parzyszek led the Falcons with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, Nate Bowman added 8 kills, while Marshall Nixon added six. Matt Knab delivered the ball well with 34 assists and Caleb Weaver collected nine digs.

The opening set consisted of some back-and-forth action early and the score was tied at 7-7. Messiah found their rhythm and jumped out to a 13-9 lead after a 7-to-2 run. The Lions started to chip away at the Falcons' advantage and came within one point of the lead (18-17). The Falcons quickly sided out and closed out the first set on another 7-to-2 run to secure game one 25-19. Nate Bowman collected six of his eight kills and the Falcons also hit a game-high .367 in the opening set.

Messiah remained steady at the start of the second set, jumping out to an 6-1 lead including back-to-back aces from Will Webb. The Lions started to come back in the middle of the set and narrowed the lead down to one-point (15-14). The Falcons however ended the Lion's run with two kills from Nate Bowman and a block from Bowman, Ian Parzyszek, and Matt Knab to extend their lead to four (18-14). Messiah remained in control the rest of the set and a kill from Parzyszek gave the Falcons a 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Falcons had to play some catch-up in the third and final set after trailing the Lions 16-13. Messiah went on an 8-to-1 swing to regain the lead 21-17. Penn State Behrend didn't give up and eventually tied the set at 24-24 after a kill and an ace. This did not faze Messiah and they closed out the set with back-to-back points, including Mason Nissley's 12th kill, to claim a 26-24 victory and to pick up their ninth win of the season.

Messiah moved to 9-4 after the action on the weekend and will return to Jordan Court on Friday, Mar. 6 when they host Cairn University at 7:00 p.m.