HARRISONBURG, Va. - The No. 7 Messiah men's volleyball team played a pair of exciting, back-and-forth matches with the Eastern Mennonite Royals and Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons started their day with 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 15-11, 27-25) victory over Eastern Mennonite. The Falcons trailed late in the fourth, but won six of the last seven points to clinch the match without the need of a fifth set. Matt Knab paced the Falcons in the match with 37 assists, three kills, five service aces, eight digs, and a pair of blocks.
 
Then in the nightcap, Messiah earned a five-set, 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-27, 16-14) victory over the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. Mason Nissley led Messiah in their second match of the day with 22 kills, a pair of service aces, and a dozen digs.
 
Including, Messiah's five-set thriller against Southern Virginia on Friday night, Messiah had a very full weekend, playing 14 sets and earning three big victories. The Falcons move to 15-2 on the season and have now won eight-straight matches. They will be back in action on Wednesday night when they host the Lancaster Bible College Chargers at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.
 
Messiah defeats Eastern Mennonite - 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 15-11, 27-25)
The Falcons' opening match of the day was an interesting one with the Falcons and Royals battling throughout. Messiah took the opening set 25-17 after hitting .412 in the first set. Eastern Mennonite countered by taking the second set by a score of 25-22. In the second stanza, the Royals went on a 13-4 run in the middle of the set that turned momentum to the Royals.
 
Messiah responded by outscoring the Royals 25-11 in the third set to take a 2-1 lead into the fourth. A massive 13-3 run in the later portion of the set highlighted the action for the Falcons.
 
In the fourth, Eastern Mennonite held the upper hand throughout most of the set, eventually holding a 23-19 lead. Messiah won the next two points with a kill from Ryan Givens and a Royals' error. After a kill from Eastern Mennonite, the Royals held a 24-21 advantage. Once again, Messiah responded with four-straight points to take a 25-24 lead. While the Royals won the next point to extend the set, Messiah claimed the final two points with a service error and a Mason Nissley kill to win the set 27-25 and the match 3-1.
 
Messiah defeats Randolph-Macon - 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-27, 16-14)
Even after playing nine sets across their first two matches of their Virginia trip, Messiah was not done with long matches. Their weekend finale against the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets went the distance with the Falcons prevailing, 3-2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-27, 16-14).
 
Messiah claimed the first set 25-23, but the Yellow Jackets quickly responded by winning the second set, 25-22. In the third, the Falcons came out firing, winning six of the first seven points to take an early 6-1 lead. From there, the Falcons steadily grew their lead over the course of the set. In the end, Messiah won the set going away, 25-15. By winning the third, Messiah took a 2-1 lead heading to the fourth.
 
While Messiah built a massive lead in the third, the fourth was not as kind. The fourth set felt much more like the first two, with the Falcons and Yellow Jackets trading blows and neither team leading by more than three in the set. Messiah held an 19-16 lead late in the set, but the Yellow Jackets closed out the set on an 11-6 run. The result was a 27-25 set victory for the Yellow Jackets, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.
 
In the fifth, Messiah looked to have taken the upper hand with a 3-0 run, building a 10-6 lead.  Just two points later, a Messiah service error kicked off the Yellow Jackets' response with a 5-1 run to tie things up at 12-12. After four-straight side-outs, Messiah won back-to-back points with kills from Mason Nissley and Alex Kagoro to close out the set 16-14 and the match, 3-2.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will return home to take on a solid Lancaster Bible team on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.