GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 7 Messiah men's volleyball team earned a straight-set, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-22) victory over the visiting Elizabethtown Blue Jays on Wednesday night. The victory moves the Falcons to 10-2 on the season as they head into their first conference match of the season on Saturday when they host Wilkes University at 12:00 p.m.
 
The Falcons were led on the night by Mason Nissley's 14 kills, Matt Knab's 33 assists, and six combined service aces between Nissley and Knab.
 
As mentioned, the Falcons will be back in action on Saturday when they host the Wilkes Colonels at 12:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena to begin MAC play.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons were a little slow to get going in the first two sets of the night, but rallied with strong finishes to both sets to take a comfortable 2-0 lead. In the opening set, Messiah trailed 8-6 after a pair of attacking errors. A quick 6-2 run turned the momentum and gave Messiah a 12-10 advantage. From there, Messiah continued to build on their run growing their lead to as many as six at 23-17. After the Blue Jays cut the lead to four at 24-20, Mason Nissley ended the set with a kill off an assist from Owen Hanzelman to give Messiah the opening set 25-20. In the set, Messiah hit .500 as a team with 14 kills and just two errors.
 
In the second set, Elizabethtown raced out to an early 5-1 lead thanks to three Messiah attacking errors. A kill from Nissley righted the ship, but Messiah would still trail until it was 12-12 in the middle of the set. During the early stretch, the Blue Jays led by as many as five, but a 6-1 Messiah run leveled the score. After a Matt Knab ace, back-to-back service errors brought Nissley back to the service line with Messiah leading 14-13. With Nissley serving, Messiah rattled off seven-straight points to take command of the set with a 21-13 lead. The run helped Messiah take the set 25-17, giving them a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third set was a more level affair with the visitors holding a slim two-point lead on a couple of occasions in the middle of the set. With the Falcons trailing 10-8, Messiah ripped off a 6-0 run with Nissley serving once again to put the Falcons in the driver's seat at 14-10. While Elizabethtown pulled within one four different times late in the set, Messiah always had an answer, eventually winning the set by a 25-22 score and the match, 3-0.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves to 10-2 on the season and will begin conference play on Saturday when they host the Wilkes Colonels at 12:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.