HUNTINGDON, PA. - The #3 Messiah men's volleyball team split the two matches this afternoon at the Juniata Tournament. The Falcons swept Geneva 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-18) but fell to #8 St. John Fisher 0-3 (20-25, 23-25, 24-26). Ryan Givens led the team in kills against Geneva (11), while Mason Nissley led the team in kills and digs (17 & 8) against St. John Fisher.

The Falcons will travel back to Huntingdon, Pa. early next week to face the #2 seeded Juniata Eagles on their home court. That match is set for Tuesday, February 7, at 7:00 PM.

Messiah defeats Geneva 3-0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-18)
The Falcons stared the day with a 3-0 sweep of Geneva to begin their Juniata Tournament afternoon. After a close first half of the set, the Falcons pulled away late in the first set, claiming it 25-19 before they found themselves in a close second set.

The Golden Tornadoes won the first four points of the set and opened up a quick 6-2 lead. Messiah rallied back and even took a 17-14 lead before the teams traded points late in the set. A service ace from Alex Kagoro closed it out to give the Falcons the 2-0 lead heading into what would be the final set.

In similar fashion to the first, the teams were closely contested in the first half before Messiah powered through and took the third set 25-18 and took the match 3-0.

Ryan Givens had a team high 11 kills while Alex Kagoro added 10. Matt Knab tallied 36 assists in the game as well. The Falcons hit .373 in the match win and prepared to face #8 St. John Fisher later in the afternoon.

St. John Fisher defeats Messiah 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 26-24)
Messiah suffered their first loss of the year by getting swept by Cardinals 3-0 after starting the day with a sweep of their own against Geneva. The Falcons opened the first set with a 7-2 lead before the Cardinals rallied back midway through, as St. John Fisher would close out that first set by score of 25-20.

The second and third sets were evenly contested throughout, with neither team generating a lead of more than three points in the second and four points in the third. After Messiah tied the second set at 22-22, the Cardinals closed out that set 25-23 to take a 2-0 lead. In the third, the Falcons were down 19-15 but were able to fight back to fight off two set points to tie the game at 24. The number eight seeded St. John Fisher prevailed in the set 26-24 and knocked off the number three seeded Falcons for Messiah's first loss of the year.

Mason Nissley had a team high 17 kills and 8 digs while Alex Kagoro added nine kills. Matt Knab had 40 assists, which was a game high. Messiah hit .238 in the loss.

Up Next
The split takes the Falcons to 7-1 on the year and will make the trip again to Huntingdon, Pa. early next week. This time, they will be playing host #2 Juniata on Tuesday, February 7, at 7:00 PM.