GRANTHAM, Pa. – Hosting a conference tri-match against the Stevenson Mustangs and Misericordia Cougars, the No. 5 Messiah men's volleyball team picked up a pair of victories to extend their winning streak to 13 games. Messiah started their day with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22) win over Stevenson before capping things off with a sweep against Misericordia, 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-19). With two conference victories on Saturday, Messiah advances to 5-0 in the MAC.
 
The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena when they host the Arcadia Knights.
 
Messiah defeats Stevenson – 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22)
The Falcons earned a four-set victory over the Stevenson Mustangs to open their day at home. The Falcons hit .288 in the match, finishing the match with a strong .435 hitting percentage in the final set.
 
Messiah dropped a tight opening set by a final score of 26-24. The Falcons led by three late in the set at 16-13, but Stevenson went on a 4-0 run to take the lead at 17-16. A few points later, the two sides traded three-point runs and Messiah was in the driver's seat with leads of 23-22 and 24-23, but the Mustangs rattled off three straight points to take the opening set 26-24.
 
In the second, Messiah jumped out quickly to a 10-5 lead, but Stevenson immediately responded with five-straight points to tie things up at 10-10. The Falcons led 16-14 before a 6-0 run with Nate Bowman serving created a cushion at 22-14. During the run, Mason Nissley had a pair of kills while Conner Stauffer earned a solo block and Ryan Givens registered a kill. Despite, a 6-2 run from the Mustangs, Messiah was able to earn the set 25-20 with Mason Nissley finished the set with a kill, tying the match at 1-1.
 
A 12-2 Messiah run in the third set changed the entire complexion of the set. The Falcons faced a 17-11 deficit, but three-straight Falcon kills got the rally going. In total, Nissley led the Falcons on the run with four kills and Messiah took a 23-19 lead following the lengthy stretch. Stevenson closed the gap to a point after winning three-straight points, but it was Nissley again picking up a pair of kills on the final three points to give the Falcons the third set 25-23.
 
The Falcons had their best offensive set in the fourth, hitting .435 in the final set. Despite the strong hitting percentage it was a close set with neither team leading by more than three points throughout the set. While it was not as large of a run as the third set, Messiah went on a 4-0 run after trailing 18-16 to take a 20-18 lead. From there, Messiah and Stevenson traded points with the Falcons earning the set 25-22 on a service error and the match, 3-1.
 
Messiah defeats Misericordia – 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-19)
The Falcons put together a strong three-set sweep of the Misericordia Cougars to finish off their effort on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons took the opening set 25-14 and while the Cougars put up stronger efforts in the second and third sets, Messiah's offense was too much to contain. The Falcons hit at a .378 clip in the match against a .205 hitting percentage from Misericordia.
 
Once again, Mason Nissley led the Falcons with 14 kills and a strong .481 hitting percentage. Matt Knab dished out 33 assists and earned four aces against the Cougars.
 
Adam Casper and Jacob Hamm both finished the match with seven kills. Casper totaled his seven kills on just 10 swings for a .600 hitting percentage. Conner Stauffer also had a very efficient match, hitting .500 with five kills on eight swings and just one error.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will continue their run through the conference with a match against the Arcadia Knights on Wednesday, Mar. 29 at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons will host the Knights on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena.