GRANTHAM, PA - The Messiah men's volleyball team earned their sixth-straight sweep and third conference victory of the season on Wednesday night by handling the Eastern Eagles in straight sets, 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-10). With the victory, Messiah improves to 8-3 on the season. Mason Nissley finished with a match-high 11 kills, but Conner Stauffer had the hot hand for stretches of the match, finishing with 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Matt Knab dished out 33 assists on the night while collecting five service aces. Defensively, Messiah collected 10 total blocks as a team with Ryan Givens finishing the evening with seven block assists.

The Falcons will host the Alvernia Golden Wolves on February 19, at 7:00pm on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. 

First Set, Messiah 25-17 Eastern
Eastern held an early 2-1 advantage that was quickly taken over by Messiah early going on an 7-1 run to make it an 8-3 score before Eastern called a timeout. That lead would grow as much to seven at 12-5 before Eastern attempted to make a comeback. The Eagles brought in within three at 13-10 but a Mason Nissley kill and two Eastern errors extended the Messiah lead to 16-10. Messiah continued to control the set and led 21-13 before Eastern used their second timeout of the set. A Luke Olson kill to end the set sealed the first set for Messiah 25-17. Messiah as a team hit .185 in the set with six attack errors along with six service errors. Jacob Hamm led Messiah with three kills in the set.

Second Set, Messiah 26-24 Eastern
The second set was tightly contested with Messiah holding a 4-1 lead at the start before Eastern tied it up at five-all. After an ace from Justin Flor, Justin Beachy called for a timeout facing a 6-5 deficit. Halfway through, Messiah held a 15-14 lead as the rest of the set would be back and forth and would be tied once again, this time at 19 apiece. Three straight points from Eastern caused another Messiah timeout down 22-19. Two Conner Stauffer kills later in addition to an Eastern error had the game tied at 22 which led to an Eastern timeout. Fittingly, Stauffer capped off the set with an ace that split the Eagle defense to claim the set 26-24. Messiah hit .500 in the second set, a much better mark compared to the first set. At the end of the second set, Stauffer led the team in kills with nine. 

Final, Messiah 25-10 Eastern
The third set was over before it started as Messiah scored the first six points of the match before Eastern called a timeout to stop the run from the Falcons. It only got better for Messiah as that lead stretched to ten at 12-2 and then 14-3. An Eastern timeout at 21-7 in favor of Messiah would not be enough for the Eagles to overcome. The Falcons would win the final set 25-10.  

Final Stats
As mentioned, Mason Nissley led Messiah with 11 kills on the evening. Nissley also registered half a dozen digs and a pair of service aces. Matt Knab was stellar from the service line, picking up five aces on the evening while dishing out 33 assists. His five aces are the second-most in a single match in program history.

Conner Stauffer had a career night, notching double-digit kills for the first time in his young career. He ended the night with 10 on 16 swings. Luke Olson came off the bench and picked up five kills on five attempts on the night.

Up Next
The win brings Messiah's record to 8-3 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Falcons will face another conference opponent in the Alvernia Golden Wolves on Saturday, Feb. 19. That match will take place in Grantham, Pa at 7:00pm on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.