GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah men's volleyball team turned in a dominating 3-0 (25-23, 25-10, 25-19) sweep of the visiting Penn State Altoona Lions on Tuesday evening in their home opener. The Falcons were paced by Mason Nissley on the outside, who turned in a match-high 15 kills while Matt Knab dished out 30 assists along with eight digs.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 2-2 on the young season and will be back in action this Saturday when they travel to Rutgers-Newark for a match at 1:00 p.m.
 
Tight Opening Set
The Falcons and Lions played a tight opening set with Messiah eventually prevailing by a 25-23 score. At the start of the set, neither team took a lead of more than two points until the Falcons went on a 5-2 run to snag a 13-10 lead. That lead was quickly erased with a 5-2 from Penn State Altoona. After the Lions took an 18-17 lead, Messiah rattled off four of the next five points with Mason Nissley picking up three kills and Nate Bowman adding one as well. The streak gave the Falcons a 21-19 lead, but another lead change put the Lions back in front with a 4-1 run of their own.
 
Messiah trailed 23-22, but took advantage of a Lions' service error to tie things up at 23-23. A huge block from Matt Knab and Ryan Givens put the Falcons in front and then Knab set Mason Nissley for the set winner at 25-23.
 
The opening set featured 13 tie scores and seven lead changes.
 
Falcons Assert Themselves
The second set tilted heavily in favor of the Falcons. A 7-2 run from Messiah opened the set and there was no looking back. The Falcons hit at a .588 clip in the set with 11 kills on just 17 swings and one error. After the Lions pulled within four points at 8-4, the Falcons stretched their advantage to double-digits with an 11-2 run, taking a 17-5 lead. From there, Messiah cruised home, winning the set 25-10 with Mason Nissley once again clinching the set with a kill, this time from Owen Hanzelman.
 
Capping It Off
In the third set it was the Lions racing out to an early lead, winning seven of the first nine points, but the Falcons swiftly responded with an 11-2 run to take a 13-10 lead. Messiah would not surrender their lead the rest of the way. They closed out the set on a 6-2 run led by two kills from Jacob Hamm, an ace from Mason Nissley, and a match-winning block from Ryan Givens and Jacob Hamm.
 
The Falcons took the third set 25-19 and completed the 3-0 sweep of the Lions to open their 2022 home campaign.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will hit the road once again this weekend and head to Newark, N.J. to take on Rutgers-Newark at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Scarlet Raiders are currently the No. 11 team in the county according to the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) National Rankings. Messiah is currently receiving votes, after beginning the season ranked No. 6 in the preseason rankings.