GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's volleyball team completed a dramatic comeback to defeat visiting Stevenson University, 3-2 (22-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-23, 15-13), for the first time in program history. The two-time AVCA National Player of the Week, Mason Nissley, registered a match-high 26 kills, his third-consecutive match with at least 26 kills. Ian Parzyszek joined Nissley in double figure kills with 19, a season-high mark for the senior outside senior hitter.
 
Despite outhitting the Mustangs in the first two sets, the Falcons dropped into an early 2-0 hole after Stevenson claimed the sets 25-22 and 25-21. The Falcons then mounted a fierce comeback, taking the following three sets to improve to 9-1 on the season, continuing their best start in the program's young history.
 
Messiah swung an impressive .517 clip in the third set, while recording four blocks in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth set.
 
Parzyszek began the match-deciding set with consecutive kills to give the Falcons a 2-0 edge. Nissley hammered home the final kill for the Falcons to complete the comeback with a fifth set victory, 15-13.
 
Messiah will be back in action this Saturday, Mar. 20, when they host Eastern University in a doubleheader, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
 
Falling Behind
Despite outhitting the Mustangs across the first two sets of Wednesday's conference tilt, Messiah found themselves in an early 2-0 hole. Stevenson claimed the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-21, respectively. Messiah and Stevenson traded points throughout the first set, until five-straight points from the Mustangs made it 20-15. Despite the Falcons' best late efforts, the Mustangs held on for the three-point victory.
 
In the second set, Messiah held an 18-15 lead late in the set, but the Mustangs slammed the door with a 10-3 run to finish out the set and claim a 2-0 lead.
 
Foot on the Gas
Needing to win out, Messiah begin their quest for the reverse sweep by jumping out to a 9-5 lead in the third set. That lead eventually ballooned to seven points after a 7-1 Falcons' run that featured a pair of kills from Parzyszek and kills from Nate Bowman and Nissley. While the Mustangs did not go quietly, pulling to within five points at 20-15, Messiah swiftly finished off the set with a 5-1 run with Mason Nissley and Ian Parzyszek each picking up two of the final four points with kills.
 
In that third set, Messiah attempted a total of 29 swing, picking up 18 kills while committing just three errors for an incredible .517 hitting percentage.
 
Just like the third set, Messiah was on the accelerator right from the get go in the fourth, holding a 6-3 lead early thanks to kills from Nate Bowman, Matt Knab, and Mason Nissley. After three Messiah errors helped Stevenson to a 6-1 run that allowed the Mustangs to take a 13-11 lead, Messiah flipped momentum back on their side. The Falcons claimed 11 of the next 16 points to turn a two-point deficit into a four-point lead at 22-18.
 
Stevenson would close out the set well, pulling within one at 24-23, but a service error by the Mustangs gave Messiah their 25th point of the set and ensured a winner-take-all fifth after the Falcons leveled the match 2-2.
 
Capping the Comeback
Playing a winner-take-all final set to just 15 points means every point in the game is critical. Messiah picked up their first five points of the set with ease, taking a 5-1 lead behind two kills and an ace from Parzyszek as well as a kill from Bowman.
 
Just a few points later, Mason Nissley earned consecutive kills off feeds from Matt Knab to keep the Falcons up by four at 8-4. Those kills must have stirred up the Mustangs, because Stevenson ripped off an 8-3 run to take a 12-11 lead late in the decisive fifth set. After a service error by the Mustangs tied the match at 12-12, Messiah won two of the next three points to set up a match point. Mason Nissley took the feed from Knab and earned his 26th, and last, kill of the match to give Messiah the 3-2 comeback victory.
 
In the Box Score
As mentioned, Nissley has been on a tear this season and he did not slow down on Wednesday night. The sophomore accumulated 26 kills on Wednesday, topping 20 kills for the sixth time this season. He was joined by Ian Parzyszek, who finished with a new career-high 19 kills on 39 attempts.
 
Matt Knab set up the powerful duo with 51 assists on the night. Defensively, Owen Hanzelman finished with 14 digs while the team ended the night with 10 total blocks.
 
The Falcons outhit the Mustangs in each of the first four sets, before the two sides matched each other's hitting percentage in the fifth at .200. Messiah swung at a .292 clip while the Mustangs ended with a .187 hitting percentage.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves to 9-1 on the season and is percentage points ahead of the Mustangs for the top spot in the MAC Commonwealth. The Falcons will host the Eastern Eagles on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. for a doubleheader in Hitchcock Arena.