CHESTER, Pa. – The No. 5 Messiah men's volleyball team cruised to a three-set sweep, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-11) over the Widener Pride on Wednesday night. As a team the Falcons hit .516 on the evening, their fourth time this season hitting north of .500 in a match. Messiah finished the night with 41 kills and just nine errors on the strong offensive performances. Matt Knab dished out 31 assists as Nate Bowman and Jacob Hamm each ended the night with eight kills.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves to 18-2 on the season and 3-0 in the conference. They will be back in action for a conference tri-match on Saturday when they host the Stevenson Mustangs and Misericordia Cougars on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Falcons will start their day with Stevenson at 11:00 a.m. before closing out the afternoon with Misericordia at 3:00 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The opening set was the closest of the evening with the Pride trailing by just three points late in the set at 16-13. Messiah closed out the set on a 9-3 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match after winning the set 25-16. The late run was fueled by service aces from Matt Knab and Mason Nissley as well as two kills from Ryan Givens.
 
In the second set, Messiah hit .650 as a team, using an 8-2 run in the middle of the set to create some separation. The Falcons led 11-9 before back-to-back kills from Jacob Hamm started the sizable run. Hamm contributed a third kill a few points later and after that picked up a service ace to put his mark on the set. Now leading 19-11, Messiah cruised in for the 15-13 set win, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third and final set was all Messiah. The Falcons won eight-straight points to take a 16-6 lead en route to a 25-11 set victory. Six different Falcons picked up kills in the set with Zac Barbato leading the way with six, including three-straight to make it 14-6 in favor of the Falcons. By taking the third set comfortable, Messiah clinched their 11th-straight victory and their third-straight sweep.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will return home for their first home matches since before spring break when they host the Stevenson Mustangs and Misericordia Cougars at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively.