OWINGS MILLS, Pa. – The Messiah men's volleyball team traveled to Stevenson University for a match up against the Mustangs. The Falcons took down the Mustangs in a thrilling five sets (25-21, 16-25, 25-23, 21-25, 15-13) to give them their fourth MAC conference victory and 13^th overall on the season. Jacob Hamm ended the day with 17 kills and 17 points, while both Jake Eby and Alex Kagoro both ended the night with nine kills each. Noah Aurdos finished the game with 26 assists, and nine digs, while Brandon Sharp put together a 20-assist night.
 
The Falcons will be on the road against Rutgers Newark Saturday Mar. 9^th.
 
First Set
Both teams traded points through the opening of set number one, until back-to-back Mustang errors, and kills from Zac Barbato and Jonathan Nixon gave Messiah a 11-7 advantage. The Falcons continued to hold off the Mustangs over the remainder of the set, getting contributions from Alex Kagoro, Jacob Hamm, and Barbato holding a 20-15 advantage late in the set. Stevenson made it interesting cutting the deficit to 23-21. However, two big kills from Conner Stauffer propelled the Falcons to a set one 25-21 victory.
 
Set Two
The Mustangs responded strongly to open the second set, taking a hold of an 8-4 early lead. Messiah would go on a 4-0 run to tie the set back up at 8-8. However, a Mustang 4-0 run of their own gave them a 12-8 lead heading into the midway point of the second set. The Falcons would do their best to keep it close, but Stevenson found a rhythm, extending their four-point lead to seven putting the score at 19-12. The Falcons managed to secure late points from Kagoro, Jake Eby, and multiple Mustang errors but it would not be enough as Stevenson would take set two by a score of 25-16.
 
Third Set
The third set was the closest set of the night, as both teams traded points with neither giving much ground the entire set. The third set would see six different lead changes and 16 ties. Despite the Mustangs countering the Falcons every point, Messiah would end up finishing the set on top 25-23, with Hamm and Eby leading the way with four kills each in the set.
 
Fourth Set
Stevenson opened the fourth set taking a quick 5-1 lead. However, the Falcons went on a 6-2 run to tie the set up at 7-7. The Mustangs would counter with a 6-4 run of their own to recapture a 13-11 advantage at the midway mark of the set. Over the next couple of exchanges both teams would trade points back and forth until a 4-1 Mustang run gave Stevenson a 20-17 lead. Unfortunately, the Falcons could not rally back to steal the fourth set, as the Mustangs forced the winner take all fifth set with a 25-21 win.
 
 Fifth Set
Messiah began the fifth set swinging, quickly taking a hold of a 4-1 lead thanks to points from Ryan Givens, Sean Gillespie, and Hamm. The Mustangs would outscore the Falcons 3-2 over the next five points to cut the deficit to 6-4. However, points from Stauffer, Eby, and Mustang error gave the Falcons a 9-5 lead. The Mustangs would not go away quietly scoring the next three points cutting the lead to 9-7. Two errors from Stevenson and a block from Kagoro gave the Falcons some breathing room at 12-9. Stevenson managed to cut the deficit to one on three separate occasions. But kills from Hamm and Givens would close out the show 15-13 for the Falcons giving them another MAC conference win.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action against Rutgers Newark in Newark, NJ Saturday Mar. 9^th at 1:00p.m