Owings Mills, Md. – The 15th-ranked Messiah men's volleyball team, playing its first-ever contest as a nationally-ranked team, suffered its first setback of the season at Stevenson University, 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-21), on Wednesday night. Sophomore outside hitter Mason Nissley led all attackers with 21 kills, while junior setter Jared Keul led the defensive effort with a match-high 12 digs.
 
Set One
The two sides were knotted up in the early going of the opening set, tied at 5-5. The Mustangs rattled off three-consecutive points, before Nissley hammered home a kill to cut the deficit, 8-6. The remainder of the set belonged to the hosts. Stevenson carved out a 13-8 advantage until Ian Parzyszek connected on a swing, bringing Messiah back to a 13-9 deficit.
 
Nissley tallied two-consecutive kills as Messiah trailed Stevenson, 18-13. The Mustangs finished the set on a 7-1 scoring run, claiming a 1-0 lead in the match. Nissley led all attackers with six kills on the set, but it was not enough to overcome Stevenson's .450 hitting percentage.
 
Set Two
The Falcons jumped out to a 3-2 edge behind Knab's first kill of the night. The two conference foes traded blows throughout the beginning of the set, with the hosts jumping out to 9-7 lead. Parzyszek disrupted a Mustangs' 3-0 scoring with a successful swing, trimming the Falcons' deficit to 10-8. Messiah continued to hang in the set, following Parzyszek's kill with a strong defensive play, a dual block at the net from Nate Bowman and Knab to trim the deficit to one, 11-10.
 
A 5-0 scoring surge from the Falcons, highlighted by kills from Nissley and Christian Wolf, gave the visitors their first lead of the set, 15-14. The Mustangs and Falcons battled to a 19-19 stalemate before a Stevenson attacking error gave Messiah a 20-19 lead. Nissley delivered a powerful swing to make it 22-21 in favor of the Falcons, but a combination of kills from Stevenson's Logan Smiley and service errors from the Falcons sunk Messiah in the second game, 25-23.
 
In the first two sets, the Falcons committed 12 service errors to Stevenson's three.
 
Set Three
The Mustangs were a set away from clinching the match. Messiah established an early 6-3 lead behind two kills from Bowman. Three-consecutive scores from the Mustangs had the hosts ahead, 9-8, before Nissley leveled the set with his game-leading 15th kill of the match.
 
The Falcons, trying to cool down the Mustangs, hung in tough. Bowman, connecting on his fifth kill of the night, brought Messiah back to a 15-12 deficit after Stevenson rattled off three-straight points. The kill from the sophomore outside hitter sparked a 6-1 Messiah scoring run as the Falcons reclaimed the lead, 17-16. Nissley proceeded to register two kills, giving Messiah a 19-18 edge. The Stevenson offense did not hold up, as the hosts, fueled by five-straight points, ended the match-deciding set on a 6-1 scoring run. The Mustangs clinched the set, 25-21, sweeping the Falcons, 3-0.  
 
With the road setback, Messiah drops to 6-1 on the 2021 season.

Notable Falcons
Along with contributing two kills, Knab dished out a match-high 30 assists. Paryzszek registered seven kills on the evening while adding four digs. With yet another match-high offensive performance, Nissley continues his streak of registering game-high numbers in kills. The sophomore outside hitter has led Messiah in kills in all seven matches of the 2021 season. Freshman libero and reigning MAC Defensive Player of the Week, Owen Hanzelman, tallied five digs and three assists. 
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons (6-1) will be back in action on Saturday, Mar. 13, when they travel to Stevens Institute of Technology (1-1) to take on the Ducks in an afternoon doubleheader, set to begin at 1:00 p.m.