SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The No. 9 Messiah men's volleyball swept the No. 1 Carthage Firebirds on Saturday afternoon to earn their first victory over a top-ranked team in the country. In the process the Falcons completed a perfect 4-0 trip to Ohio that saw Messiah earn victories over Mount Union, Mount St. Joseph, Aurora, and No. 1 Carthage. The Falcons earned the 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-22) victory over the Firebirds just hours after claiming a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21) win over the Aurora Spartans.
Mason Nissley was out of this world in the match against Carthage, collecting 24 kills and a .525 hitting percentage in the match.
The Falcons will return home on Wednesday with an undefeated, 5-0 record to take on Rutgers-Newark at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
No. 9 Messiah defeats Aurora - 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21)
The Falcons started their Saturday with a strong victory over the Aurora Spartans. Messiah claimed the first set by a final score of 25-21, despite hitting just .105%. The Falcons steadily built their lead in the set, thanks to five separate 3-0 scoring runs en route to the 1-0 lead.
In the second, Messiah actually hit at a much higher clip than the Spartans, .304 vs. .190 in the set, however the Falcons were on the wrong end of a 25-22 set score. Service errors plagued the Falcons in the set, committing eight as the Spartans tied the match at 1-1.
Messiah continued to hit at a high percentage in the third set, turning in an even better mark of .379% with 13 kills and just two errors as Messiah ran away with the third set 25-18. The Falcons opened up a 10-3 lead early in the set and never looked back cruising to the third-set victory and a 2-1 lead.
The fourth was a tight set, with Aurora attempting to force a fifth and Messiah looking to close things out. Following a kill from Aurora's Matthew Nelson, the Spartans held a 19-18 lead, but Messiah closed out the set with seven of the final nine points for a 25-21 set win and a 3-1 match win.
Ryan Givens closed out the match with a huge kill from the middle.
No. 9 Messiah defeats No. 1 Carthage - 3-0 (28-26, 25-22, 25-22)
Trailing 24-21 at the end of the opening set, Messiah rattled off a 7-2 run to take the set 28-26 and steal any momentum that the Firebirds had. That momentum kept rolling with hitting percentages north of .300 in all three sets. The Falcons were in control of the second set throughout, but needed a 4-1 run at the end of the set to claim the second set by a score of 25-22. In the third, Messiah used a 4-0 run to build a 19-13 lead as they cruised home for the 25-22 set victory and the 3-0 sweep.
More on this story to follow...
