HOBOKEN, N.J. – A quest for a second Middle Atlantic Conference Championship for the Messiah men's volleyball fell just short on Saturday night with the Falcons falling in five sets against the top-seeded Stevens Ducks by a 3-2 (25-15, 25-23, 21-25, 25-27, 15-8) final score. The Falcons shook off a sluggish start in the opening set to ultimately force a fifth set. In the final game, Messiah struggled to find a rhythm, falling into a 6-1 hole just seven points into the set. The Ducks would go on to claim the set, 15-8 and the match 3-2, also winning their second-straight Conference Championship. With the victory, Stevens earns the Automatic Qualifier (AQ) into the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament that begins next weekend.
 
Also looking for a spot in the National Tournament as well, the Falcons will find out their fate on Monday at 10:00 a.m. on ncaa.com when the Selection Show announces the Tournament field.
 
Saturday was Messiah's third-straight trip to the MAC Championship Match. They move to 25-5 overall on the season.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons struggled to open the match, hitting just .100 in the first set and falling 25-15 in the set. Messiah looked to be in a much better spot in the second set, leading 22-20 late, but four-straight Stevens points put the Ducks in the driver's seat and two points later they would close out the set at 25-23. The Falcons were the stronger offensive team in the set with a .179 hitting percentage with 10 kills in the set, against nine kills and a .165 clip from the Ducks, but 10 Messiah service errors helped give Stevens the set.
 
Trailing 2-0, Messiah fell behind early in the third, trailing 10-5 and later 13-8. A 6-1 Messiah run in the middle of the set tied the things up in the third. The Falcons and Ducks were trade points until the set was tied 21-21. A kill from Mason Nissley. Put the Falcons in front 22-21 and started a four-point run that ended the set and gave Messiah their first game of the match. With Nissley serving, Messiah earned kills from Adam Casper and Alex Kagoro on the final two points of the set to claim it 25-21. In the set, Messiah was efficient, hitting at a .407 clip with 15 kills and just four errors.
 
Needing another set victory to extend the match, Messiah continued to press the gas with their best set of the night in the fourth. The Falcons hit at a .458 percentage in the set and while it was a tight, 27-25 margin of victory for the Falcons, Messiah felt like the better team throughout. Late in the set, Messiah held a 24-21 lead, but Stevens fended off three-straight set points to tie things up at 24-24. After a service error put Messiah up 25-24, the Ducks earned a kill to tie things up once again at 25-25. The Falcons responded with a kill from Mason Nissley and a stellar solo block from Nissley to clinch the set, 27-25 and set the stage for a winner-take-all fifth set.
 
After Messiah won the first point of the fifth set on a kill from Nate Bowman, it was the Stevens Ducks' show. The Ducks rattled off six-straight points to take a 6-1 lead and cruised to the fifth-set victory by a final score of 15-8. Stevens took 11 swings in the set, sending nine kills to the floor without an error for an .818 hitting percentage.
 
By taking the fifth set, Stevens claimed their second-straight MAC Championship and the Falcons finished as the Runner-Up in the conference for the second-straight year as well.
 
As mentioned, Mason Nissley led all offensive players with 20 kills while Matt Knab dished out 47 assists to go along with four service aces and nine digs.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will now await their fate as they hope to continue their season in the NCAA Tournament. Messiah is owners of a 25-5 overall record and beat some of the best teams in the country. Their five losses are all against teams currently ranked in the top-10 nationally, with four of their losses coming against the top-three teams in the country.
 
On Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. the Falcons will find out if they made the NCAA Tournament when the Division III Selection Show is released on ncaa.com. Fans are encouraged to follow GoMessiah.com for more information throughout the weekend and coming week on a possible NCAA Tournament run.