GRANTHAM, PA. – The Messiah mens volleyball team swept past the Widener Pride in three sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-19) at home. The Falcons were led by Christian Wolf and Jacob Hamm with 10 kills each. Wolf would total 12 points on the day to lead all Falcons. Brandon Sharp put together an excellent performance with 31 assists on the day and eight digs.
 
Messiah will be on the road Tues, March 26^th when they take on Misericordia University at 7:00p.m.
 
How It Happened:
 
Set One:
Both teams were lock and step to start the match trading points back and forth tied at 10-10 heading into the midway mark of the opening set. Jake Eby, Alex Kagoro, Zac Barbato, and Jacob Hamm all got involved early for the Falcons. Over the next couple of possessions, neither team gained much ground with the score tied at 15-15. However, the Falcons would use a 7-2 run to extend a 22-17 lead late in the set. Messiah would finish the set 25-20 thanks to multiple Pride errors and a kill from Hamm.
 
Set Two:
To begin the second set the Pride jumped out early to an 3-1 lead. The Falcons would respond with an 8-4 run to take a 9-7 lead, with Eby leading the way with two kills during the run. Following a Widener timeout, the Falcons offense woke up. Messiah would extend an 11-5 run using Christian Wolfs four kills to take a 20-12 lead in set two. The run included two 5-0 stretches for the Falcons. The Pride made It interesting down the stretch, cutting the deficit to 22-16. It was not enough to steal the set from the Falcons, as the Falcons capitalized on four straight attack errors to win the set 25-19.
 
Set Three:
Over the first couple of possessions for both teams, the Pride and the Falcons traded 3-0 runs but a couple Falcon errors gave the Pride an 7-6 lead early on. Widener motivated to stay in the set kept it close tying it up at 10-10. However, a 5-1 Messiah run extended their lead to 15-11. Hamm continued to score kills for Messiah as they looked to run away with the set now leading 18-12. Widener needed to shift the momentum, and they did so by going on a 4-1 run of their own to bring the score to 19-16. Errors proved to make the biggest impact down the stretch for the Pride, with Messiah taking advantage of four Pride errors over the final stretch to take set three 25-19.
 
What's Up Next:
The Falcons will be back in action Tuesday, Mar. 26^th against the Cougars of Misericordia University at 7:00p.m.