HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 9 Messiah Men's Volleyball team earned a pair of wins on the road on Saturday afternoon over Drew University and Eastern Mennonite University. The Falcons swept Drew with set scores of 25-17, 25-17, and 25-16. Messiah then defeated Eastern Mennonite 3-1 with set scores of 25-15, 27-29, 25-18, 25-19. Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 24 kills while Tyler McConnell added 16. Brandon Sharp dished out 65 assists while Todd Snyder added nine blocks.

The Falcons are next in action when they return to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Wednesday, March 5 to host conference opponent Stevenson. Action will begin at 7:00 p.m.

No. 9 Messiah University Falcons vs Drew University Rangers

The Falcons started set one with a 6-3 lead behind kills from Todd Snyder and Brayden Parks, a pair of kills by Tyler McConnell and a block by Jake Eby and McConnell. McConnell and Eby added kills before the Falcons scored three straight with two Drew errors and a kill by Alex Kagoro. A block by Todd Snyder led to a 13-7 lead for Messiah. After trading points, a trio of Rangers errors led to a 17-9 lead for the Falcons. Brandon Sharp then connected with Kagoro to extend the lead to 18-10. After trading points, Kagoro notched a pair of kills before Tyler McConnell notched one to put the Falcons up 23-15. The teams traded a pair of errors each to end the set, with Messiah earning the 25-17 win.

Set two began with the Falcons and Rangers trading points with Brandon Sharp connecting with Alex Kagoro and Brayden Parks and Conner Stauffer connecting with Kagoro as the teams were notched 3-3. Tyler McConnell had a kill before Parks picked up a service ace to give the Falcons a 5-3 lead. The score came to 9-6 in favor of the Falcons with a kill by Kagoro and a block by Brandon Sharp. The Falcons then scored nine straight en route to an 18-6 lead. Brayden Parks notched four kills in the run while Todd Snyder collected a pair. Sean Gillespie added a kill while Kagoro and Snyder combined for a block. After the Rangers scored three, Cooper Henseler connected with Parks to take a 19-9 lead. Jake Eby added a kill and a block before Gillespie notched a kill from Jonathan Nixon to bring the score to 24-16. A service error for the Rangers ended the set 25-17 in favor of the Falcons.

After Drew scored the first pair of points in set three, Cooper Henselser connected with Brayden Parks for a kill and an error for Drew tied the score 2-2. The Falcons then scored three straight on a pair of Rangers errors and a kill by Parks. A Rangers point was followed by six straight for the Falcons that included three service errors for Brayden Parks. After trading errors, Jake Eby and Sean Gillespie combined for the block to start a five point run. Gillespie scored two straight with a set from Jonathan Nixon and an overpass from the Rangers before Tyler McConnell notched a service ace and brought the score to 16-5 in favor of Messiah. Gillespie and Seth Rajnic added kills as the score increased to 19-10. Jake Eby notched a block and a kill to bring the score to 23-15 before a Rangers error set it to match point. Jonathan Nixon connected with Jake Eby and the Falcons took set three 25-16 and took the match 3-0.

Match One Stats
Brayden Parks led the Falcons with nine kills and four service aces. Alex Kagoro added seven kills, hitting .750. Brandon Sharp dished out 15 assists and Cooper Henseler added 10.

No. 9 Messiah University Falcons vs Eastern Mennonite University Royals

The Falcons took a 4-1 lead with a kill from Jacob Hamm and a pair from Alex Kagoro. After errors on both sides, Brayden Parks earned his first service ace of the match. Brandon Sharp connected with Ryan Givens for the kill as the Falcons took an 8-4 lead. A kill by Kagoro and a block by Brandon Sharp and Todd Snyder was followed by a Royals kill. The Falcons then scored four straight with a pair of kills by Kagoro, a block by Kagoro, and a block for Hamm and Snyder as Messiah took a 14-6 lead. Kills by Snyder and Hamm and a pair of errors by Eastern Mennonite brought the score to 18-9 in favor of Messiah. The Falcons quickly added a pair with a kill by Ryan Givens and a service ace by Parks. Sharp connected with McConnell, Kagoro, and Snyder to bring the score to 23-13 in favor of the Falcons. Kills for Kagoro and Hamm gave the Falcons the 25-15 set one win.

The Falcons started set two 2-0 with kills by Alex Kagoro and Todd Snyder but Eastern Mennonite quickly countered. Kagoro added a kill, and Jacob Hamm added a pair to go up 5-4. The Royals then scored three straight to take a 7-5 lead. Brandon Sharp connected with Ryan Givens to bring the score to 8-7 in favor of the Royals before they scored three straight to extend their lead to 11-7. A kill by Kagoro and ace by Sharp cut the deficit but Eastern Mennonite continued to respond with points of their own. The Falcons continued to work from the deficit for the remainder of the match. Kills by Kagoro, Hamm, and Givens continued to cut the deficit as the Falcons found themselves down 24-20. Messiah scored four straight with kills by Tyler McConnell and Todd Snyder with a pair of Eastern Mennonite errors to tie the score 24-24. The set went to extra points as the teams battled back-and-forth with McConnell, Kagoro, and Sharp each getting kills before a Royals kill and Falcons error ended the set 29-27 in favor of Eastern Mennonite and tying the match 1-1.

Set three started with another pair of Messiah points, this time on a Royals error and a kill by Tyler McConnell from Brandon Sharp. Alex Kagoro and Jacob Hamm notched kills before Sharp connected with McConnell again to take a 5-4 lead. Eastern Mennonite score three straight to regain control 7-5. A kill from Ryan Givens, a kill for Sharp on an over pass, and a kill for Kagoro tied the score at 8-8. The Falcons scored three straight on a kill by Givens and a pair of kills for Sharp from McConnell and Todd Snyder. The score continued to balance from side to side before Todd Snyder notched a kill to take a 14-13 advantage. Givens and McConnell added kills to bring the score to 16-16 before the Falcons went on a seven point run. The run included a pair of kills for Kagoro, a kill each for Sharp and Snyder, a block by Sharp and Snyder, and a service ace for Givens. With a 23-17 lead, the Falcons only needed a kill from Snyder and a block from Jacob Hamm and Snyder to end the set 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

After an opening kill by Todd Snyder from Brandon Sharp and a 1-1 score, the Falcons scored three with a Royals error, a kill by Tyler McConnell on the over pass and a kill for McConnell from Conner Stauffer. Jacob Hamm and Alex Kagoro each scored a pair of kills as the Messiah lead was extended to 8-4. A service ace for Ryan Givens sealed a pair of Falcon points before scoring three straight behind a kill from Jacob Hamm and a block by Todd Snyder. With a 15-11 lead, Givens and McConnell notched kills before a pair of errors by Eastern Mennonite gave Messiah a 19-11 lead. Givens added a kill and Snyder and Sharp earned the block as the score moved to 22-14. After a pair of Royals points, Sharp found Snyder for the kill. A block by Kagoro and Snyder brought the score to 24-17 before the Royals scored two. A service error ended the set 25-19 in favor of the Falcons who took home the 3-1 match win.

Match Two Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 17 kills and added two assists and six kills. Jacob Hamm and Tyler McConnell each added 11 kills. Brandon Sharp dished out 50 assists and was second on the team with eight digs. Conner Stauffer led the Falcons with 10 digs while Todd Snyder added seven blocks. Brayden Parks had three service aces while Ryan Givens added a pair.

Up next
The Falcons are next in action when they return to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Wednesday, March 5 to host conference opponent Stevenson. Action will begin at 7:00 p.m.