DALLAS, PA. – The Messiah mens volleyball team lost a closely contested 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 25-23, 16-26, 14-16) match to No.2 Misericordia in the MAC Semifinals.  Zac Barbato (15) and Ryan Givens (14) led the team in kills while, Brandon Sharp tallied 44 assists to lead all players. The Falcons capped off their season with an 16-10 record going 6-2 in the conference.
 
Set One
The Falcons kept it close through the midway point of the set, trailing 12-10 early on. Ryan Givens, Alex Kagoro, and Jake Eby kept the Falcons within striking distance through that point. However, the Cougars would open up the set going on a 4-0 run to take an 16-10 lead. Knowing they need points quick; the Falcons began to string points together cutting the deficit to 18-15 taking advantage of multiple Cougar Errors. It was not enough to shift the tide, as the Cougars finished the set on a 7-2 run to win set one 25-17.
 
Set Two
Messiah came out looking to tie this match up at one all. Through the first 18 points, the Falcons found themselves up 10-8. Falcons Zac Barbato, Jacob Hamm, Conner Stauffer, and Brandon Sharp got themselves into the point column early on. Over the next couple of possessions both teams traded points, followed up by a 3-0 cougar run to tie the set up at 14-14. However, Barbato, Stauffer, and Kagoro continued to put kills together helping the Falcons regain a 20-16 lead. The Cougars tried to stall Messiah with a timeout, but the Falcons were undeterred closing out the set on a 5-3 run to take set two 25-19.
 
Set Three
In the third set, both teams found themselves in a back-and-forth affair. Barbato, Kagoro, Givens, and Stauffer got on the board for the Falcons early with the set tied at 11-11.  In a pivotal third set neither team gave much ground continuing to keep things close knotted up at 15-15 at the midway point. The Falcons however caught some rhythm, taking an 20-17 advantage late in the set. Misericordia unwilling to roll over, chipped their way back into the set tying it up at 21-21 with help from a couple Falcon errors. Following an error from both teams Stauffer and Barbato delivered big kills to take a late 24-23 lead, causing a Cougar timeout. After the timeout, Givens would close it out with a kill up the middle to capture a 25-23 set three win.
 
Set Four
Up 2-1 the Falcons looked to close out the match on the road. However, the Cougars were determined to even the match back up jumping to an 12-7 lead including a 7-1 run. Following a coach Beachy timeout, the Falcons began to chip away at the lead cutting the deficit to 14-11. However, the Cougars offense continued to roll opening an 17-11 lead late in the set. From that point on it was all Misericordia, going on to win set four 25-16 and force a fifth and final set.
 
Set Five
The Cougars jumped ahead fast, grabbing an 4-0 advantage over the Falcons. Eby and a Cougar service error got the Falcons on the board, but Messiah still trailed 6-2. Following an exchange of kills, the Falcons needed to cut the gap quickly with the fifth set only to 15. Givens, Stauffer, and a couple errors would exactly do that as Messiah now trailed 7-5. Coming out of a Cougar timeout, Misericordia would score the eighth point as the team switched sides. The Cougars kept the Falcons at arm's length holding a one-point lead with the score sitting at 12-11. After a Kagoro service error, the Falcons capitalized off a Cougar error and a Givens kill to tie the set at 13-13. However, despite battling throughout the Falcons would fall short as the Cougars prevailed 16-14 to knock off No.3 Messiah in five sets.