GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah men's volleyball team earned the second seed in this week's Middle Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Falcons will host the third-seeded Arcadia Knights on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the MAC semifinals on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Stevens Ducks earned the top seed in the Tournament and will host the fifth-seeded Misericordia Cougars in the other semifinal.
The two winners will square off on Saturday in the MAC Championships with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
Fans should note that all MAC Tournament matches require tickets for entry. Tickets can be purchased at the door for the following prices: Adults - $5, Senior Citizens - $4, Students and Children - $2, Children under 6 – FREE.
Please note, that due to a generous donor, all Messiah students will be admitted free of charge!
See below for a quick preview of the Tournament:
No. 2 Messiah University Falcons - 24-4 overall, 8-1 conference
Putting together arguably their best season in program history, Messiah has gone toe-to-toe with the best teams in the country. The Falcons currently rank fourth in the country and have played eight teams currently ranked in the top-15. Messiah holds a 4-4 record against those top opponents, with three of their losses against No. 1 Vassar, No. 2 Stevens, and No. 3 Juniata. The Falcons are a well-rounded team that can hang with anyone and feature an offense that is hitting .318 on the season while holding opponents to a mark of just .178.
Mason Nissley leads the attack with 4.81 kills per set and a .292 hitting percentage.
Matt Knab facilities the offense with 10.22 assists per set while also picking up 52 kills on the year. The duo is also stellar from the service line. Nissley and Knab have combined for 108 service aces with Knab leading the charge with 70 on the season.
Middles
Ryan Givens and
Nate Bowman more than hold their own with 104 combined total blocks on the season while both hitting north of .389.
No. 3 Arcadia University Knights – 17-10 overall, 7-2 conference
After starting the season 2-5, the Knights rattled off eight-straight victories in the middle of the season, including two against MAC foes. The Knights won three more against conference teams to begin their conference slate 5-0. Messiah handed Arcadia their first loss in MAC loss and the Knights dropped their regular season finale against Stevens.
The Knights' record indicates that they have been up and down throughout the season and the reality is that they stand in the middle of the conference in nearly every statistical category. They are fourth in hitting percentage at .224, but rank eighth in opponent's hitting percentage at .231. Danny Gonzalez leads the attack with 267 kills on the season and a .219 hitting percentage on the season.
When they met:
The Falcons earned a 3-1 victory over the Arcadia Knights on Mar. 29 on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena. The Knights won the opening set, 25-20, but Messiah rebounded to take the next three by scores of 25-18, 25-15, and 25-17 to earn the victory. As a team, Messiah hit .33 including back-to-back sets over .600 in the second and third.
Mason Nissley and
Jacob Hamm both went for more than 15 kills with 20 and 15, respectively. While
Matt Knab dished out 44 assists.
No. 1 Stevens Ducks – 29-3 overall, 9-0 conference
The Ducks enter the MAC Tournament as the No. 2 team in the country. They were ranked as the top team in the nation for most of the season, but end the regular just behind Vassar for the top spot. Stevens has rolled through their schedule with their lone setbacks against defending national champion Carthage, No. 1 Vassar, and Division-I foe Sacared Heart. Outside of those three matches, the Ducks have dropped just 12 sets on the season.
Led by Koby Sherman's 3.01 kills per set, .306 hitting percentage, and 29 aces, the Ducks feature a balanced attack that has five different players averaging north of two kills per set.
When they met:
Messiah squared off with Stevens on the second to last week of the season. After a tough opening set, Messiah settled down and played three tight sets. Despite falling by a 3-1 final, Messiah hung with the Ducks, winning the third set 25-20.
Mason Nissley led the Falcons with 31 kills in the match while Nissley,
Alex Kagoro, and
Matt Knab all had multiple aces in the match.
No. 5 Misericordia University Cougars – 15-21 overall, 5-4 conference
The Cougars upset the Stevenson Mustangs in five sets on Tuesday night's MAC Play-In Game to make their way into the semifinals. Misericordia holds an overall record of 15-21 on the year, going only 5-4 in the conference this season, losing in straight sets to the other four teams in the tournament. As a team, they have been outhit .225 to .181 by their opponents this season, but Zane Martin leads the way with a .397 hitting percentage and 119 kills.
When they met:
The Falcons earned a convincing sweep of the Cougars on Mar. 25, allowing Misericordia to score just 51 points in the match. Messiah hit at a .378 clip in the match with eight service aces and five total blocks.
Mason Nissley led Messiah with 14 kills while
Matt Knab handed out 33 assists on the night.
