OWINGS MILLS, Md. – It was not the Falcons night on Friday in the National Semifinals against the Stevens Ducks. Despite playing in front of a very pro-Messiah crowd, the Falcons were unable to capitalize on the crowd energy and fell in straight sets, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18). The Ducks took early leads in all three sets and cruised home for the victory to advance to the National Championship Match against the North Central Cardinals, who defeated the top-seeded Vassar Brewers earlier in the evening in straight-sets as well.
 
For the Falcons, Messiah struggled to find their footing against a foe they had already squared off with two prior times this season. The Falcons turned in their lowest hitting percentage of the season, swinging at a .155 clip on the evening. The Ducks on the other hand, collected just eight hitting errors and finished the evening with a .422 hitting percentage.
 
With Friday night's setback, Messiah's magical 2023 season comes to a close. The Falcons finish the season with an overall record of 27-6 and advanced to the National Semifinal for the first time in program history.
 
How It Happened
Playing in their first Final Four in program history, Messiah took an early 3-2 lead in what looked like it would be a back-and-forth first set. The Ducks had other plans, ripping off an 8-1 run that took advantage of four Messiah attacking errors and a service error to take a 10-4 lead. A timeout followed and after the brief stoppage, the Falcons hung around a little bit. A 5-2 Falcons' run cut the Stevens lead to four at 15-11, but Messiah did not sore back-to-back points for the rest of the set and dropped the opening set 25-17.
 
In the second, the Ducks put the Falcons right on their heels, scoring four of the first five points. That early lead was stretched to 9-3 and Messiah was unable to recover. The Falcons cut the deficit to 19-14 with a late three-point run that included back-to-back blocks and an out-of-system kill from Mason Nissley. Another three-point run late in the set pulled Messiah within five at 24-19, but it was not enough as Stevens took the set 25-19, building a 2-0 lead in the process.
 
Messiah held their own at the start of the third set, but a 7-0 Stevens run in the middle of the set took a 10-9 Ducks lead up to a 17-9 advantage. Messiah committed five errors during the run and from there, the Ducks cruised home, winning the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
 
Closing out the Season
The Falcons conclude the season with an overall record of 27-6, the most successful campaign in program history, both by wins and the deepest NCAA Tournament run for the Falcons. Messiah advanced to the MAC Championship and Final Four, falling to the Stevens Ducks on both occasions. The loss also caps off the careers of a four-member senior class that helped win Messiah men's volleyball claim their first Conference Championship in 2021 and advance to the NCAA Tournament in both 2021 and 2023. The record over their four years stands at 76-20 with a 35-5 mark at home.