GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 5 Messiah men's volleyball team worked their way through a rocky start to earn a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-17) victory over the Arcadia Knights on Wednesday night. The Falcons were a little sluggish in the opening set, hitting at just a .083, but responded with back-to-back sets of .619 and .609 hitting percentages to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth, Messiah carried their momentum to clinch the match 3-1.
Mason Nissley led all hitters in the match with 20 kills while
Jacob Hamm was close behind with 15 kills and a .522 hitting percentage.
Matt Knab dished out 44 assists in the four-set match as the Falcons finished the night with 10 team blocks.
The victory improves the Falcons to 21-2 overall on the season and 6-0 in the MAC. Messiah will face the Stevens Ducks on Saturday evening as part of the tri-match with Stevens and Eastern in St. Davids, Pa. The Ducks are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation and as a result, Saturday's match will carry much importance in the conference, regional, and national landscape come postseason time.
On Jordan Court
The Falcons were flustered early and the Arcadia Knights took advantage building a lead as much as seven points (17-10). Messiah rallied but it was Arcadia who took the first set 25-20 to take the 1-0 set lead. The Falcons hit a horrid .083 in the first set, which contributed to the loss.
It was a different story from that point on, with the Falcons rallying back in an emphatic way, hitting at a .619 clip in the second set. Midway through, the set was tied at 10-10, but the Falcons went on a 7-3 run to force an Arcadia timeout. Messiah closed out the set on an 8-5 run to even up the match at a set apiece, winning 25-18.
The third set was just as dominant as the second, with the Falcons taking the set 25-15, hitting at .609. The Knights hung around early in the set but the Falcons kept their foot on the pedal, winning stretches of points of three, four, and three to open up a 17-8 lead. Messiah closed it out 25-15.
The Falcons would close out the match in the fourth set with a 25-17 win to take the overall match 3-1.
Stat Sheets
Mason Nissley led the team in kills with 20 while
Jacob Hamm added 15 on the night.
Conner Stauffer had a team high 12 digs while
Matt Knab had 44 assists.
Nate Bowman and
Ryan Givens each added four total blocks on the evening.
Overall, the Falcons hit .333 with 54 kills and added 16 total blocks in the four sets.
Up Next
The win takes the Falcons record to 21-2 and sets up a clash with the only other remaining undefeated conference team in the Stevens Ducks. Messiah will travel to St. David's Pa. for a tri-match where they will play not only Stevens, but Eastern as well. The Falcons will face Stevens first in a matchup to decide seeding in the upcoming MAC Playoffs at 5:00 PM. The match against Eastern will follow at 7:00 PM.
