GLENSIDE, Pa. - The Messiah men's volleyball team suffered their first two defeats in the conference on Saturday, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 (20-25, 29-27, 27-29, 25-20, 15-11) match to the No. 4 Stevens Ducks and then suffering a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-22) sweep against Arcadia on Saturday afternoon as part of a tri-match. The Falcons and Stevens went toe-to-toe on the final day of the regular season in a match that would decide the top two seeds in the MAC Tournament. With the victory, Stevens clinches to top seed in the conference, while the Falcons finish in second in the conference.

Messiah will host the MAC Semifinals on Wednesday evening against the Stevenson Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
 
Match One - Stevens defeats Messiah - 3-2 (20-25, 29-27, 27-29, 25-20, 15-11)
Trailing Stevens 11-7 midway through the opening set, the Ducks committed a service error, sending Matt Knab back to the service line. With Knab serving, Messiah won the next eight points for a quick 9-0 run that featured three service aces and three Mason Nissley kills. The run flipped the set and gave Messiah a 16-11 lead and momentum for the remainder of the game. While the Ducks eventually tied the set at 18-18, Messiah ended the set on a 7-2 run to sin the opening set, 25-20.
 
In the second set, it seemed as if Messiah had the upper hand, holding a lead of three points on five different occasions. The latest of those occasions was at 18-15, following a Mason Nissley kill. The Falcons and Ducks traded two-point bursts until Messiah held a 23-21 advantage late in the set. Stevens claimed the next two points to tie the set at 23-23, but Ryan Givens picked up a kill to give the Falcons the first of four set-point chances. Messiah could not cash in as the two teams sided out until it was 27-26 Messiah. Stevens won the next three points with a service error, a kill, and a Messiah attacking error to clinch the set 29-27.
 
The third set felt nearly identical. Messiah jumped out to a quick lead and built a three-point cushion at 10-7. Stevens closed the gap with five-straight points before the Falcons took the lead back at 19-16 following a Conner Stauffer kill. Messiah's lead was up to four at 23-19 before the Ducks went on a 6-1 run to take a 25-24 lead. Messiah saved off set point and eventually clinched the set by a 29-27 score to take a 2-1 lead heading to the fourth.
 
Stevens bounced back and won 13 of the first 18 points to build a 13-5 lead. Messiah chipped away at the lead throughout the set, but the early deficit was too much to overcome of the Ducks claimed the set 25-20 to set up a decisive fifth game.
 
A block from Mason Nissley and Nate Bowman along with three kills propelled the Falcons to an early 5-2 lead in the fifth. After the Ducks scored three-straight points to tie the score, Messiah used a 3-0 run of their own to take a 9-6 lead. Following kills from Ryan Givens and Mason Nissley, Messiah held a 11-9 lead. The Ducks proceeded to win the next six points with three kills and three Messiah attacking errors helping them claim the set, 15-11, and the match 3-2.
 
For the Falcons, Nissley finished the match with 27 kills, while Conner Stauffer (13 kills) and Ryan Givens (10 kills) also finished in double digits. Matt Knab dished out 53 assists in the match. Messiah earned nine service aces, but committed 27 service errors against just 12 from the Ducks.

Match Two - Arcadia defeats Messiah - 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-22)
With the second seed already locked up for the MAC Championships, Messiah took on Arcadia in their final match of the regular season. Arcadia jumped all over the Falcons, earning a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-22)) sweep of Messiah. A tight opening set went to the Knights, despite the Falcons hitting a solid .348 in the set. Arcadia used a key 8-1 run in the middle of the set to turn an 11-9 Messiah lead into a 17-12 advantage for the Knights.

In the second, Arcadia steadily built their lead eventually winning 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead. Messiah took a 14-9 lead in the third set, but Arcadia used another 8-1 run to take a three-point advantage at 18-15. From there, the Knights and Falcons traded points, but Arcadia earned the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.

Christian Wolf led the Falcons' offense with eight kills while Jared Keul dished out 29 assists.  
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons have clinched the second seed in next week's MAC Championships. Messiah will host the Stevenson Mustangs in the MAC Semifinals on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. the contest will be a rematch of last year's MAC Championship that the Falcons claimed in thrilling come-from-behind fashion for their first-ever conference title.