UNION, N.J. – On Saturday afternoon the Messiah men's volleyball team split a pair of matches at the Kean Invitational. The Falcons started their day with the host Kean Cougars, dropping a tight match in straight-sets, 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) before rebounding with a 3-2 (25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 16-25, 17-15) victory against Randolph-Macon. The Falcons were in closely contested sets throughout their day, falling just short against the Cougars but finishing their match strong against the Yellow Jackets.
 
Jacob Hamm led the offense in both matches, finishing with 18 kills against Randolph-Macon and 15 in the Kean match. Ryan Givens and Alex Kagoro both finished with strong offensive efforts, finishing the day with 25 and 23 kills, respectively. Brandon Sharp dished out 53 assists in the match with Randolph-Macon and ended the day with 92 total assists across the two matches.
 
With the split, Messiah moves to 3-4 on the season and will be back in action next Saturday when they head to Lancaster to take on the Lancaster Bible College Chargers for a match at 6:00 p.m.
 
Kean defeats Messiah - 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-20)
The Kean Cougars just did not make many errors in their match against the Falcons. The Cougars played conservatively and in the end their strategy won the day. Messiah earned more points than Kean, 50-32, through kills, aces, and blocks, but in the end it was the 42-16 difference in service and attack errors that gave Kean the sweep.
 
Individually, Messiah had a number of notable performances, with Jacob Hamm leading the way with 15 kills and a .417 hitting percentage. Ryan Givens and Alex Kagoro both finished with 11 kills for a balanced Messiah attack. An in just three sets, Brandon Sharp dished out 39 assists.
 
No Cougar finished with more than seven kills, but as a team they committed just 10 hitting errors and missed just six serves in the match.

Messiah defeats Randolph-Macon - 3-2 (25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 16-25, 17-15)
The Falcons rounded out their trip to New Jersey with a tight five setter with the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. Three of the five sets were decided by just two points with the Falcons emerging with the exciting victory. The Falcons held a slight edge in nearly every statistical category of the match, including hitting percentage (.333-.272), kills (66-62), blocks (8-7), assists (66-61), and digs (39-27). The Yellow Jackets did finish with one more service ace than the Falcons, finishing with six against five from Messiah.
 
Messiah took the opening set, 25-23, winning the set on a block from Brandon Sharp and Jake Eby. In the second set, the Yellow Jackets won eight of the final 12 points to claim the set 27-25 to tie the match at 1-1. Messiah took the lead back by taking the third set 25-18, but Randolph-Macon snagged the fourth set, 25-16 to set up a pivotal fifth set.
 
With the Yellow Jackets leading 7-6, Messiah rattled off three-straight points to take a 9-7 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Conner Stauffer. Momentum swung right back to the Yellow Jackets after a 5-1 run gave Randolph-Macon a 12-10 advantage. The Falcons responded by finishing the match on a 7-3 run to claim the set 17-15. Messiah used kills from Jake Eby, Alex Kagoro, and Ryan Givens down the stretch to clinch the exciting five-set match.
 
Ryan Givens had a fantastic match, flooring 14 kills on just 21 attempts with no errors for a .667 hitting percentage. Jacob Hamm led the way with 18 kills and a .211 hitting percentage while Brandon Sharp dished out 53 assists in the five setter.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6:00 p.m. when they travel to Lancaster Bible College to take on the Chargers. This season the Chargers are 3-7.