ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – On Tuesday night, the No. 16 Messiah men's volleyball team got back in the win column with a 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21) victory over the Elizabethtown Blue Jays. A career night for Ryan Givens propelled the Falcons to the victory. The junior middle recorded a career-high 19 kills while attempting just 29 swings for a .655 hitting percentage. As a team, the Falcons hit .318 with 50 kills and just 15 errors while holding the Blue Jays to a .244 attack percentage.
 
The victory moves the Falcons back to .500 at 2-2 on the young season. Messiah will be back in action on Thursday when they host the No. 4 California Lutheran Kingsmen on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m.
 
Blue Jays Strike First
Tuesday night's opening set was a back-and-forth battle with the Falcons holding a slim 19-18 lead late in the set. Elizabethtown rattled off five-straight points to take a commanding 23-19 lead after a Messiah attack error, but the Falcons went on a 5-0 run themselves. Alex Kagoro collected a pair of kills during the stretch while also combining with Jake Eby for a block. The Messiah run set up a set point for the Falcons, but the Blue Jays earned a kill to tie the set at 24-24. Messiah once again had another set point at 25-24 after a missed serve, but Elizabethtown ripped off three-straight points to take the set, 27-25.
 
Falcons Rally Back
Things did not look great in the second set for the Falcons with the Blue Jays taking a 13-7 lead early on. Messiah swiftly responded with three separate 4-0 runs as part of a larger 12-4 streak to take the lead at 19-17. The Blue Jays did not roll over, going on a 3-1 run to tie the set at 20-20. Over the final stretch, Sean Gillespie picked up a pair of kills to fuel a 5-2 Messiah run that claimed the set, 25-22 and leveled the match at 1-1.
 
After dropping the first point of the third set, Messiah took a 4-1 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Jacob Hamm. From there, the Falcons held a lead for the remainder of the set. While the Blue Jays pulled within two late in the set at 18-16, Messiah never gave up control. In the end, Jacob Hamm picked up the kill to give the Falcons the set at 25-21 and stake them to a 2-1 lead.
 
Ryan Givens had been strong on all night, but in the fourth set he really stepped up for the Falcons. In what turned out to be the final set of the night, Givens picked up seven kills and four blocks. The set was an interesting one with the Falcons taking a 13-10 lead after a kill from Connor Stauffer. That lead was later bumped to four points following a block from Givens and Alex Kagoro that made it 18-14. The Blue Jays fought back with a 5-1 run that tied things up at 19-19. Over the final eight points of the match, Givens collected a trio of kills and a block with Stauffer for good measure to help the Falcons to a 25-21 win in the set and a 3-1 victory in the match.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons continue their busy week with a match against No. 4 California Lutheran on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Kingsmen currently hold an 8-2 record with seven victories over ranked teams this season. Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the Falcons and Kingsmen in men's volleyball.