NEWARK, NJ. – The Messiah men's volleyball team traveled to Rutgers Newark to take on the Scarlet Raiders. The Falcons would suffer a loss in this match up losing in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) to fall to 13-7 on the season. Zac Barbato led the way with eight kills on nine attacks. While Alex Kagoro (7) Ryan Givens (6) finished not far behind. Noah Aurdos would put together 19 assists in the loss.
 
Messiah will be back in action Wed, Mar. 20^th against No. 2 Stevens University on the road at 7:00p.m.
 
Set One
Both teams traded points early on with the score knotted at 5-5 through 10. The Falcons would begin to find some rhythm offensively, taking a hold of a 11-8 lead thanks to kills from Zac Barbato, and Ryan Givens. However, the Scarlet Raiders got it going with a 5-0 run to recapture a 15-13 lead over the Falcons. Messiah fought hard for the remainder of the set but could not put a run together as the Scarlet Raiders took set one 25-19.
 
Set Two
Rutgers Newark got it going with an early 9-4 lead heading into the midway point. Conner Stauffer, Jake Eby, and Sean Gillespie were the only Falcons in the point column through this point in the set. The Scarlet Raiders continued to show success offensively extending their lead to as large as 16-10 heading into the midway point of set two. Messiah would rally back scoring four out of the next five to cut the deficit to 17-14. Alex Kagoro would pick up two big kills during the run. The Falcons would do everything they can to pull themselves within striking distance, including cutting the lead to 21-18 following a Kagoro kill. However, it would not be enough as the Scarlet Raiders picked up set two 25-20.
 
Set Three
The Falcons got off to a great start to begin the third set quickly grabbing a 5-2 advantage. Barbato picked up three kills to get things rolling for Messiah. The Scarlet Raiders rallied back though knowing they need one more set to sweep the Falcons. Heading into the midway mark, the Falcons found themselves trailing 15-10. Givens, Eby, and Jacob Hamm managed to get points on the board for the Falcons over the next couple of possessions to cut the deficit to 20-16. Messiah fought hard down the stretch bringing the score to within three on two separate occasions. However, it wasn't enough as Rutgers-Newark would pull off 25-21 win and the 3-0 sweep.
 
What's Up Next:
The Falcons won't be back in action until Wednesday Mar 20^th when they travel to Hoboken, NJ to take on No. 2 ranked Stevens Ducks at 7:00p.m.