READING, Pa. - After dropping the opening set against the Alvernia Golden Wolves, the Messiah men's volleyball team rallied to win three-straight sets to earn a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20) victory to begin their day in Reading. The Falcons followed up their conference win over Alvernia with a clean, 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-21) sweep of the Drew Rangers to complete their day. With the two victories, Messiah improves their winning streak to a dozen matches.

In their victory over Alvernia, Mason Nissley accumulated a match-high 24 kills while Matt Knab facilitated the offense with 47 assists across four sets.

Against the Rangers, Luke Olson collected 16 kills and a .519 hitting percentage while Jared Keul dished out 29 assists and four Falcons finished with at least half a dozen digs.

With the two wins, Messiah moves to 14-3 on the season and 6-0 in the conference. The Falcons will e back in action next Wednesday when they travel to Stevenson to take on the Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. in Owings Mills, Md.
 
Messiah defeats Alvernia - 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20)
The Golden Wolves took the opening set on Saturday morning by a score of 25-22. The Falcons and Golden Wolves traded points throughout the majority of the set, but Alvernia held a slim lead throughout. Late in the set, the Golden Wolves rattled off three-straight points to make it a 24-19 lead. The Falcons responded with three points, but it was not enough as Alvernia took the set 25-22.
 
In the second, Messiah flipped the script and took the set by an identical score of 25-22. The set played out in a similar way, but with Messiah holding a slight advantage. The Falcons held a 17-16 lead, but took control of the set with a 4-1 run to push their lead to four at 21-17. Mason Nissley picked up two kills during the short run while Matt Knab and Nat Bowman also picked up a kill each. The two teams traded points the rest of the way and Conner Stauffer capped off the set with a kill from Knab.
 
With the match tied at 1-1, Messiah took the upper hand with a 9-1 run early in the third set. Trailing 7-6, Messiah won nine of the next 10 points to build a 15-8 lead. Alvernia pulled within four at 16-12, but Messiah went on 6-1 scoring streak to put the set out of reach. Messiah claimed the set 25-18. Six different Falcons collected kills in the set with Mason Nissley finishing off three-straight during the early 9-1 run.
 
The fourth set was a game of runs. The set featured four different runs of at least four points with each team picking up two. Messiah got the better of the runs with streaks of seven and five points while Alvernia's pushes were a pair of four-point bursts. In the end, Ryan Givens delivered the final kill to give the Falcons a 25-20 victory to clinch the match.

Messiah defeats Drew - 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-21)
In their first set against Drew, Messiah used a 10-1 run in the middle of the game to build a 19-8 lead and eventually earn a 25-15 victory in the set. Messiah held a slim, 9-7 lead midway through the set before ripping on seven-straight points and 10 of the next 11 to take a 19-8 lead. Messiah held at least a nine-point lead for the remainder of the set, winning 25-15. The Falcons held Drew to just a -.182 hitting percentage in the set, while struggling to find their rhythm as well, with eight errors in the game.

In the second, Messiah's offense started clicking a little more. The Falcons swung at a .391 hitting percentage in the set with Luke Olson highlighting the effort. Olson earned six kills in the set and finished off the set with a service ace to give Messiah a convincing 25-11 victory and a 2-0 lead. Messiah went on a pair of 9-2 runs in the set. The first gave Messiah a 10-4 lead and the second pushed Messiah's cushion to 12 at 22-10. After Drew scored to halt the Falcons' run, Messiah rattled off the final three points of the set with kills from Olson and Alexander Chamberlain and an ace from Olson.

At the start of the third set, a number of Messiah errors allowed the Rangers to take a 13-7 lead. Messiah righted the ship and scored the next seven points to take a 14-13 lead. Messiah continuted to hold the upper hand at 20-18, but three-straight Drew points gave the Rangers a 21-20 lead. Once again the Falcons responded with five-straight points to win the set 25-21. Luke Olson had a pair of kills in the final five points and Christian Wolf also registered a kill. Adam Casper ended the set and the match with a service ace.

What's Up Next
The Falcons will turn their attention to the Stevenson Mustangs in a conference heavyweight battle on Wednesday evening in Owings Mills. The Mustangs are currently ranked 11th in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) with a 17-7 overall record and a 7-1 mark in the conference.