ALTOONA, Pa. – The No. 12 Messiah Men's Volleyball team was in action Thursday night against the Penn State – Altoona Lions. The Falcons earned the 3-0 sweep with set scores of 25-18, 25-22, and 25-20. Todd Snyder led the Falcons with eight kills and three blocks. Alex Kagoro had seven kills while Brayden Parks added six.

The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Feb. 15 when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to participate in the Vassar Tri-Match. Messiah will take on Baruch College at 2:00 p.m. and Vassar College at 4:00 p.m.

Match Action
The Falcons were first to score when Brandon Sharp connected with Todd Snyder for the first kill of the game. He then found Alex Kagoro and Snyder once again to give the Falcons a 3-2 lead. Messiah scored four straight on a service ace by Brayden Parks and a kill by Kagoro from Parks along with a pair of Lions' errors to go up 8-4. Kagoro, Snyder, and Parks each picked up a kill as the Falcons brought the score to 13-10. Back-to-back points for the Lions brought them within one before Ryan Givens notched a kill followed by Brayden Parks' second ace of the set to go up 15-12. Givens and Kagoro each notched a kill before a Lions point. Sharp then found Kagoro once again and Givens secured a service ace to bring the score to 19-14 in favor of the Falcons. Penn State – Altoona took a timeout looking to stop Messiah's momentum. Out of the break, Snyder and Sharp connected for a block to extend the lead to six. The Lions notched a pair of kills split by a kill for Jake Eby before Sharp connected with Parks and Kagoro served an ace from the line, bringing the score to 23-16 and forcing the Lions to take their second timeout. The Lions were able to score two out of the break before a Brayden Parks kill and Lions' error gave the Falcons the 25-18 win.

The Lions went on a 4-0 run to start the second set after not holding a single lead in set one. Messiah responded with three straight of their own behind a kill by Todd Snyder, an ace from Alex Kagoro, and a kill from Tyler McConnell. Brandon Sharp connected with Snyder the McConnell to bring the score to 6-5 in favor of the Lions. The Lions had a five-point run as the Falcons struggled to connect on a play and the Falcons called a timeout as they trailed 12-6. Out of the timeout, the teams traded errors before Kagoro notched a service ace, cutting the deficit to 14-10. The Falcons scored four straight on a pair of kills by Parks, one by Givens and a block for the pair to bring the score to 16-14 in favor of the Lions. After a timeout by Penn State – Altoona, the Falcons dropped a point on a service error before tieing the score at 17-17 with a kill by Givens and a pair of Lions' errors. After errors on both sides of the nets, Sharp connected with Kagoro before Sharp and Snyder blocked a Lions' attack and Messiah went up 21-19, forcing a second Lions' timeout. A pair of errors by the Lions gave Messiah the 23-20 advantage before the Lions scored a pair of their own. A service error for the Lions and a block by McConnell and Snyder ended the set 25-22, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set three began with Brandon Sharp connecting with Todd Snyder for a kill before the Falcons took a 2-0 lead following a Lions' error. After a number of errors by the Lions, Sharp connected with Tyler McConnell to give the Falcons a 5-3 lead. Messiah earned four straight, highlighted by a pair of service aces for Tyler McConnell, to extend their lead to 9-4. The score moved to 11-6 as Ryan Givens and Alex Kagoro each notched a kill. The Falcons again scored three straight on a pair of Lions' errors and a kill for Snyder from Kagoro. A kill by Kagoro and error for Penn State – Altoona brought the score to 16-9 in favor of the Falcons. Brayden Parks notched a kill to bring the score to 17-10 as the Falcons subbed in half a lineup. After a number of errors by the Lions, Cooper Henseler connected with Sean Gillespie for a kill to bring the score to 20-13. After the Lions scored four straight, they committed an attacking error that was followed by a kill for Seth Rajnic from Conner Stauffer that brought the score to 23-17. Henseler then connected with Ethan Earhart to bring the set to match point at 24-18. The Lions scored two before Henseler again found Earhart to secure the 25-20 win and the 3-0 match sweep.

Match Stats
Todd Snyder led the Falcons with eight kills and three blocks. Alex Kagoro added seven kills with three service aces. Brayden Parks and Tyler McConnell each had two service aces. Brandon Sharp led Messiah with 25 assists, adding four digs and two blocks. Conner Stauffer had nine digs and added an assist.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Feb. 15 when they travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. to participate in the Vassar Tri-Match. Messiah will take on Baruch College at 2:00 p.m. and Vassar College at 4:00 p.m.