GRANTHAM, PA - The No. 10 Messiah men's volleyball team picked up a season-opening victory on Wednesday night, defeating the Marymount Saints by a 3-1 (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18) final score. The Falcons were led by Mason Nissley, who finished the night with a match-high 19 kills and a .389 hitting percentage. Alex Kagoro made his presence felt in his first collegiate match, picking up four service aces, eight kills, and five digs.
 
The win is Messiah's first ever victory over the Marymount Saints in four tries. With the victory, Messiah begins the season 1-0 and will be back in action next weekend when they head west to take on the University of Mount Union at 7:00 p.m. in Alliance, Ohio. The match with Mount Union kicks off a busy weekend for the Falcons against top competition. The Falcons will also take on Mount St. Joseph, Aurora, and No. 1 Carthage.

How It Happened
The first set went back and forth with Marymount taking a 14-11 lead midway through. The Falcons used a 6-1 run to prompt a Saints timeout as Messiah picked up two more after the timeout to take a 19-15. Messiah closed out the set with a 25-17 win to take a 1-0 lead headed into the second set.

The teams were once again close as the second set was tightly contested with Messiah holding a 17-16 advantage. The Falcons finished the set on a 8-3 run thanks to a couple of service aces from Alex Kagoro and ended with an impressive one handed block by Matt Knab as the Falcons took a commanding 2-0 lead into the third set.

At the midway point the teams were tied at 13 and then once again at 17 as the teams traded points. The Saints took a 21-18 lead to prompt the Falcons first timeout of the night. The Saints took a 23-20 lead before a Kagoro kill and a Zac Barbato ace cut the deficit to one as Marymount called a timeout. Marymount was able to close out the third set to push the game to a fourth set, winning the next two points winning the set 25-22.
 
The fourth set was neck and neck as the team once again traded points with multiple ties and lead changes. Messiah led 19-17 late and prompted a Marymount timeout. Messiah won those two points thanks in part to a block by Givens and Knab as well as an emphatic kill from Nissley. From there, it was all Messiah as the Falcons claimed six of the final seven points to earn the 25-18 set win and the 3-1 victory in the match. Mason Nissley connected on three kills down the stretch and Zac Barbato ended the match with a service ace.

As mentioned, the win is the Falcons first against the Saints, who had previously beaten the Falcons the three times. Marymount had held the Falcons to one set win in those three previous matchups combined.

What's Up Next
The victory starts the Falcons in the win column for the second time in program history (3-0 victory over Misericordia in 2021). Messiah will now travel to Alliance, OH to take on the University of Mount Union on January 26, at 7:00 PM.