HUNTINGDON, Pa. - The No. 4 Messiah men's volleyball team shrugged off a slow opening set against the St. Joseph's Long Island Golden Eagles in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament to earn a 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-22) victory on Friday evening. With the victory, Messiah advances into Saturday's Second Round with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The Falcons will square off with No. 3 Juniata in the Elite Eight tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. after the Eagles swept Baldwin Wallace in the other First Round game in Huntingdon on Friday.
 
Mason Nissley led all players with 21 kills in the match while Jacob Hamm finished the night with 16 kills on a .583 hitting percentage. Matt Knab handed out 55 assists in the four-set match as the Falcons hit .293.
 
As mentioned, the Falcons will play tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. with a trip to the program's first-ever Final Four on the line. Messiah will take on No. 3 Juniata in a rematch of a match from earlier this season on Feb. 7 when the Falcons fell 3-1.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the opening set, after kills from Mason Nissley and Nate Bowman, but an extended 12-5 run for St. Joseph's put the Golden Eagles up 13-10. The strong play continued for the Golden Eagles as they led 16-12 just a few points later. The Falcons ripped off four-straight points with kills from Jacob Hamm and Alex Kagoro highlighting the run as the Falcons tied the set at 16-16. The momentum went right back to the Golden Eagles with a 5-0 run to take a 21-16 lead. While the Falcons fought back with a 5-2 run, but they were unable to pull closer than two points, eventually dropping the set 25-21.
 
Trailing 1-0 heading to the second set, Messiah jumped out 9-4 lead in the second and stayed in the driver's seat for the entirety of the set. The Falcons held a multiple-point lead for the whole game and closed out the set with a 4-1 run, that featured back-to-back Nate Bowman service aces and a Jacob Hamm kill to tie the match at 1-1.
 
With the match back on level footing, it was the Golden Eagles that took an early lead in the third set. St. Joseph's went up 6-2 after eight points and later held a 10-5 cushion. A Golden Eagles service error, made it a 10-6 and began a set and match-changing Messiah run. The Falcons went on a 10-1 run, primarily with Matt Knab serving. Knab picked up three aces during the run while Mason Nissley had a trio of kills.
 
After the run, Messiah held a 15-11 lead, but the Golden Eagles would work their way back to tie the set at 19-19 and 20-20. Again it was a service error from St. Joseph's that started a Messiah run. This time, Messiah won five-straight points to claim the set 25-20. Mason Nissley earned a kill and an ace late as the Falcons took a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
In the fourth and what turned out to be final set, Messiah was out in front for the bulk of the set, but the Golden Eagles hung around throughout. Following a Jacob Hamm kill, Messiah held a 13-7 lead after 20 points in the fourth. Despite the six-point deficit, the Golden Eagles went on an 8-3 run to pull within one at 16-15. A 4-1 response from the Falcons featured kills from Matt knab, Mason Nissley, and Jacob Hamm as the Falcons went back up by four at 20-16.
 
The Falcons held off the Golden Eagles down the stretch with Nate Bowman scoring the last three Messiah points with kills as the Falcons earned the 25-22 victory in the set.
 
In the match, the Falcons collected 60 kills against just 46 from the Golden Eagles. Messiah also finished with eight service aces against one from St. Joseph's.
 
What's Up Next
With the victory, Messiah moves into the Elite Eight for the second time in program history. The Falcons previously fell to the eventual National Champion Cartage Firebirds in the Elite Eight in 2021. This year, the Falcons will face a familiar foe when they stand across the net from the No. 3 Juniata Eagles tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. Messiah is 0-4 against the Eagles all-time, including a 3-1 setback against on Feb. 7 on the road. The Falcons took the opening set, but dropped the next three while being held to a .184 hitting percentage, their second-lowest mark of the season. Messiah will look to avenge that early-February loss and punch their ticket to next weekend's Final Four.