HOBOKEN, NJ. – The Messiah mens volleyball team took on, No.3 ranked Stevens University in this conference match up. The Ducks got the better of the Falcons beating Messiah in three sets 3-0 (25-15,25-22, 25-15) to remain atop the conference standings. Jake Eby led the Falcons with eight kills on 12 attacks. Givens (6) and Hamm (5) were not far behind him. Brandon Sharp would finish with 15 assist to lead the team.
 
The Falcons will be back in action Saturday, Mar 23^rd against Widener University.
 
How It Happened:
Set One:
The Falcons struggled to get into an offensive rhythm early on. Stevens quickly grabbed a hold of an 11-5 lead heading into the midway point of the opening set. Jake Eby, Zac Barbato, and Ryan Givens all scored points early for the Falcons. Following a Messiah timeout, the Falcons got some help off a couple Ducks errors to cut the deficit to 15-9. However, Stevens opened a seven-point lead after a 9-7 run to take a 20-13 advantage late in the set. Jacob Hamm, Conner Stauffer, and Givens would do most of the damage for the Falcons offense. The Ducks would close it out on an 5-2 run to take set one 25-15.
 
Set Two:
Alex Kagoro, Hamm, Givens, and Stauffer kept the Falcons afloat early on, leading 11-8 forcing a Stevens to take an early timeout.  The Ducks seemed to collect themselves in that time out, as they crept back into the game to tie it at 12-12. Two more points later, with the Falcons now trailing 14-12, coach Justin Beachy was forced to stall the Ducks momentum with a timeout of their own. A couple kills later from Givens, and Eby Messiah trailed 17-16 heading into the final stretch of a pivotal set two. The Falcons stayed in range through the 22-20 mark of the set taking advantage of multiple Duck errors to keep the score close. However, Stevens would close it out on a 3-2 run to take set two 25-22.
 
Set Three:
Jake Eby scored three of the first four points for Messiah, as the Falcons found themselves trailing 10-5 early on. The Ducks offense was proving to be to much as they extended an 14-6 lead following an 4-1 run. The no.3 ranked team in the country seemed to be unfazed following a Falcon timeout, continuing to pour it on opening up an 18-8 lead. Eby, Kagoro, Barbato, and Hamm all would score for the Falcons in the third set, but it would not be enough as the Stevens Ducks took set three 25-15 to sweep the Falcons.
 
What's Up Next:
The Falcons will host the Widener Pride in another conference match up. The match is set for Saturday Mar 23^rd at 1:00p.m.