GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah Men's Volleyball team was in action on Saturday, Jan. 18, for day two of the Messiah Invitational. The Falcons defeated the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets 3-1 to open the day. In the Falcons final game of the tournament, they defeated Nazareth 3-0. Alex Kagoro collected 45 kills on the day, while Jacob Hamm added 19 and Ryan Givens added 16. Brandon Sharp dished out 77 assists between the two matches. On defense, Conner Stauffer collected 21 digs while Todd Snyder had seven blocks and Givens added six.

Up next, the Falcons will travel to Ashland, Va. for the Randolph Macon Tournament on Friday, Jan. 24. Messiah will face the University of Lynchburg at 5:00 p.m. and take on host Randolph-Macon at 7:00 p.m..

Match One Action
The Falcons defeated the Yellow Jackets of Baldwin Wallace 3-1 after dropping the first set 25-23. Messiah came back to win three straight with scores of 25-23, 25-22, and 25-21.
Baldwin Wallace started set one with three strong kills. Brandon Sharp found Todd Snyder for the kill for the early 1-1 tie before Yellow Jacket errors brought the score to 5-5. The play continued back-and-forth including four kills by Alex Kagoro and one each by Todd Snyder and Ryan Givens to notch the score at 15 a piece. After a kill by Jacob Hamm and a block by Hamm and Todd Snyder followed by a block by Snyder and Tyler McConnell, the Falcons took their first two-point lead of the match, 20-18. Messiah then led 23-22 before a kill, service ace, and a second kill gave the Yellow Jackets the 25-23 set victory.

In the second set, Messiah jumped to a 2-0 lead behind a kill by Alex Kagoro and a Baldwin Wallace attack error before the Yellow Jackets earned five straight. Tyler McConnell found Alex Kagoro to start a string of four straight for the Falcons to give them a 6-5 lead. The Falcons and Yellow Jackets continued to trade points in ones and twos until the Falcons strung three straight kills together with two from Kagoro and one from Jacob Hamm to go up 22-20. Messiah used two kills by Ham and a service ace from Kagoro to take the set 25-23 and tie the match 1-1.

Set three began with trading of points before the Yellow Jackets claimed two straight to take a 6-5 lead. The Falcons then earned five straight kills from Kagoro (three), Brandon Sharp, and Todd Snyder followed by a Baldwin Wallace attack error to go up 11-6. A pair of Kagoro kills and a Yellow Jackets error extended the lead to 14-8. After a Falcon lead of 16-9, Baldwin Wallace scored five straight to bring the score to 16-14 in favor of the Falcons. Back-to-back kills for Tyler McConnell and a service error for Baldwin Wallace brought the Falcons lead back to four at 19-15. Brand Sharp and Ryan Givens picked up a block that was followed by Sharp finding Kagoro for a kill. The Yellow Jackets had an attack error before Sharp found Todd Snyder to give the Falcons the 24-19 lead. Baldwin Wallace was able to score three before a service error gave Messiah the 25-22 win.

After being tied 4-4 to start set four, Messiah went on a six point run that started with a Tyler McConnell kill from Brandon Sharp. Sharp connected with Jacob Hamm for two kills in the run while he found Ryan Givens for another. Givens picked up another kill before Ryan Givens had a solo block and a kill that extended the lead to 13-6. Over the next 15 points, Alex Kagoro, Todd Snyder, Jacob Hamm, and Ryan Givens each picked up a kill as the Falcons moved to a 19-15 lead. Baldwin Wallace collected three straight points to bring the deficit to one point. A service error and attack error by Balwin Wallace brought the score to 21-18 in favor of Messiah. After trading errors, Brandon Sharp and Todd Snyder combined for a block and Sharp found Kagoro for a 23-20 lead. A backset by Sharp found Jacob Hamm to lead Messiah to match point where a Yellow Jackets attack error gave the Falcons the 25-21 set win and the 3-1 match victory.

Match One Stats
Alex Kagoro led all players with 27 kills while Jacob Hamm added 11 and Ryan Givens added seven. Brandon Sharp dished out a match-high 44 assists. Sean Gillespie had two service aces while Kagoro added one. On defense, Todd Snyder led with four blocks, Givens collected three, and Sharp added two. Sharp lead all players with 13 digs while Tyler McConnell added 10 and Conner Stauffer added nine.

Match Two Action
Messiah jumped to a quick 4-0 lead to open first set action behind three kills by Alex Kagoro and a block by Todd Snyder and Jacob Hamm. Kagoro and Hamm each picked up a kill before a service ace from Todd Snyder put the Falcons up 9-4. Brandon Sharp connected with Givens twice and Todd Snyder once as Messiah jumped to 16-11. The Falcons scored four straight, including Snyder's second ace of the set and a kill by Givens to go up 20-12. Brandon Sharp found Alex Kagoro to send it to match point at 24-15. A Messiah service error kept the Golden Flyers alive, but Alex Kagoro put the set away with his sixth kill of the first set.

The Falcons jumped to a 2-0 lead before Messiah and Nazareth traded kills and attack errors to bring the score to 5-5. Messiah held a 10-8 lead after a kill by Ryan Givens and two by Alex Kagoro. Jacob Hamm, Givens, and Kagoro each added a kill to their stat line and then Falcons went up 17-15. After trading service errors and kills, before Hamm grabbed two kills, putting Messiah up 22-20. The Falcons rounded out the set with a kill by Brandon Sharp before a pair by Kagoro to take the set 25-23 and go up 2-0 in the match.

After a first point kill for the Golden Flyers, Kagoro picked up a kill and Nazareth had three attacking errors to put Messiah up 4-1. After errors on both sides and a pair of kills for Nazareth, Tyler McConnell notched a kill to start a four point run for the Falcons that included a service ace by Seth Graybill. After a small run by Nazareth, Brandon Sharp connected with Jacob Hamm to tie the score at 14 before Todd Snyder nabbed his third service ace of the match to go up 15-14. Sharp and Hamm connected twice late in the match to bring the score to 24-22 in favor of the Falcons. On match point, Ryan Givens came up big with a solo block to give Messiah the 25-22 set three win and the 3-0 match sweep.

Match Two Stats
Alex Kagoro led all players with 18 kills while Ryan Givens added nine and Jacob Hamm added eight. Brandon Sharp dished out 33 assists in the match. Todd Snyder had three service aces while Seth Graybill added one. Givens and Snyder each had three blocks. Conner Stauffer led all players with 12 digs while Graybill added six.

Up Next
The Falcons will travel to Ashland, Va. for the Randolph Macon Tournament on Friday, Jan. 24. Messiah will face the University of Lynchburg at 5:00 p.m. and take on host Randolph-Macon at 7:00 p.m..