GRANTHAM, PA. – In a Division III Top Ten showdown, the No. 7 Messiah Men's Volleyball team dropped the battle to No. 6 Stevens with a score of 3-1 on Wednesday night. The Ducks took sets one and two with scores of 25-23 and 25-19 before the Falcons battled back to take set three 25-21. The Ducks dominated set four, earning the 25-15 win and the 3-1 match victory. Alex Kagoro led all players with 23 kills while Tyler McConnell added 10. Brandon Sharp led with 45 assists with Conner Stauffer adding 18 digs.

The Falcons return to the court on Saturday, March 22 when they travel to Chester, Pa. to take on Widener University and Baruch College. The Falcons and Pride will play at 11:00 a.m. and the Falcons and Bearcats will play at 1:00 p.m.

First Set
In what would be a highly contested battle, set one started with some back-and-forth scoring. The Falcons scored the first pair of points on a kill by Alex Kagoro from Brandon Sharp followed by a kill for Sharp from Kagoro. After a pair of Stevens points, Sharp took advantage of an overpass for his second kill. Stevens scored another pair a Jacob Hamm kill split a pair of Stevens' errors to give Messiah a 6-4 lead. Sharp connected with Tyler McConnell for a kill before Stevens scored four straight to take a 9-7 lead. Messiah tied the score at 11-11 with a pair of kills for Ryan Givens and two errors by the Ducks. The Ducks added a pair of kills before a service error but quickly came back with another kill. Sharp then found Todd Snyder for a kill before another pair for the Ducks. Kagoro, McConnell, and Givens each added a kill as the score came to 18-16 in favor of Stevens. The score came to 20-17 in favor of the Ducks as Kagoro and Snyder each added a kill for the Falcons. Stevens scored a pair before Hamm scored a pair of kills split by a Kagoro kill to bring the score to 22-21. The teams traded points ,with McConnell picking up two kills, before a service error ended the set 25-23 in favor of the Ducks.

Second Set
Stevens took a quick 8-3 lead in the second set, with Alex Kagoro and Tyler McConnell each notching kills from Brandon Sharp. Sharp then connected with Ryan Givens before a kill for Stevens. Kagoro picked up another kill before Stevens scored four straight, extending their lead to 13-5. The Falcons chipped away at the deficit with a pair of kills by Kagoro and an error for the Ducks, bringing the score to 14-8. The teams then traded points before a kill for McConnell and an error by Stevens brought the score to 17-12. The Falcons continued to slowly chip at the score as Givens and Kagoro each notched kills and Givens added a service ace as the score came to 19-15. The Ducks extended their lead to 22-15 with three straight points. Alex Kagoro added a kill before a Ducks error and Ducks kill. McConnell then connected with Kagoro for the kill before Jacob Hamm capitalized on an overpass for a kill of his own, bringing the score to 23-19 in favor of the Ducks. A pair of kills sealed the set at 25-19 in favor of Stevens, who took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third Set
Looking to keep their night alive, the Falcons took a 5-3 lead to start the third set behind three kills for Alex Kagoro and a service ace by Todd Snyder. The Ducks notched the score at 5-5 before Brandon Sharp connected with Jacob Hamm and Ryan Givens for kills to reclaim the lead at 7-5. Stevens was again quick to answer with a pair of kills to bring the score even at 7-7. Brandon Sharp capitalized on an overpass to earn a kill before Stevens earned a pair of points to take a 9-8 lead. After trading errors, Messiah scored three straight will a pair of kills for Kagoro from Sharp and a Ducks' error to regain the lead 12-10. Stevens earned a block before committing a service error followed by a service ace for Alex Kagoro brought the score to 14-11. The Ducks scored a pair before a kill by Jacob Hamm. The score was notched 15-15 after a pair of points for Stevens. A kill for Kagoro and a point for Stevens kept the score level before a service error from the Ducks and a pair of kills for Kagoro gave the Falcons the 19-16 lead. Stevens scored a pair before Sharp and Kagoro each notched a kill on overpasses to bring the score to 21-18. Stevens scored a pair to cut the Messiah lead to one before committing an error that was followed by a kill for Jacob Hamm from Tyler McConnell. A kill for Stevens wasn't enough as Conner Stauffer found Alex Kagoro for a kill before Brandon Sharp found Jacob Hamm for the final kill of the set, giving Messiah the 25-21 win and bringing the match score to 2-1 in favor of Stevens.

Fourth Set
Stevens looked to bounce back quickly after dropping the third set and did so by taking a 10-2 lead, with the Falcons scoring on a service error and a kill for Todd Snyder from Brandon Sharp. As the Falcons added points one by one, the Ducks scored the majority of their points in pairs to maintain their lead. An error for the Ducks and a block for Tyler McConnell brought the score to 10-4 before Stevens added another pair of points. Jacob Hamm found Alex Kagoro for the kill before another pair for Stevens made it 14-5 in favor of the Ducks. A Stevens error gave Messiah a kill before the Ducks notched back-to-back kills. Sharp connected with Ryan Givens for the kill before Todd Snyder earned a kill on an overpass to bring the score to 16-8. A Falcons service error was followed by a kill for Kagoro before the Ducks added another pair of points. Tyler McConnell and Todd Snyder each notched kills as the score moved to 19-11. The teams traded kills before Stevens earned a pair of points. McConnell notched a kill followed by yet another pair of points to bring the score to 24-13. Messiah scored two with a kill by McConnell and a block for Ryan Givens and Brandon Sharp, but it wasn't enough as the Ducks secured their final kill, taking the set 25-15 and the match 3-1.

Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 23 kills while Tyler McConnell added 10. Brandon Sharp dished out 45 assists while adding nine digs and a block. Conner Stauffer led the Falcons with 18 digs. McConnell and Ryan Givens each added a block.

Up Next
The Falcons return to the court on Saturday, March 22 when they travel to Chester, Pa. to take on Widener University and Baruch College. The Falcons and Pride will play at 11:00 a.m. and the Falcons and Bearcats will play at 1:00 p.m.