WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The No. 9 Messiah Men's Volleyball team earned the conference sweep on Saturday afternoon over King's College of Pa. with set scores of 25-20, 25-15, and 25-17. Todd Snyder led the Falcons with nine kills and added two service aces. Brandon Sharp dished out 35 assists. Brayden Parks added five service aces while Conner Stauffer led the Falcons with six digs.

The Falcons will take the week off from competition with Spring Break and will return to action on Wednesday, March 19, when they host Stevens Institute of Technology for a Top 10 match-up. Action is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.

First Set
Jacob Hamm had the Falcons first point of the game, notching a kill to make it 1-1. Brandon Sharp then connected with Tyler McConnell and Brandon Sharp to make it 3-3. The Falcons jumped to a 7-3 lead on four straight points behind a kill by McConnell and a pair for Alex Kagoro. Ryan Givens and Todd Snyder added kills as the Falcons took a 9-6 lead. After trading points, the Falcons went on another four point run, this time behind kills from Hamm, McConnell, and Givens to up the Falcons advantage to 15-8. After an error gave the Monarchs a point, Messiah went on their third four point run of the first set. This run included a kill for Hamm, an ace for Brayden Parks, and a kill by Brandon Sharp as the Messiah lead grew to 19-9. Kills from McConnell, Givens, and Kagoro as well as an error by the Monarchs brought the score to 23-12. King's scored five to bring themselves back into the game with a score of 23-17 still in favor of the Falcons. Brandon Sharp connected with Todd Snyder before a pair of points by the Monarchs. The Falcons sealed the 25-20 set one victory with a kill by Sharp from Snyder.

Second Set
The Falcons started set two the same way set one ended, a pair of kills for Todd Snyder from Brandon Sharp. After a Monarchs' point, Snyder added another. Sharp then connected with Tyler McConnell before Snyder picked up a service ace as Messiah took a 5-2 lead. After a point for King's, Messiah scored five with a pair of errors for King's, a pair of aces for Brayden Parks, and a kill by McConnell, extending the lead to 10-3. The teams traded points before the Falcons jumped to a 15-5 lead with a pair of aces for Ryan Givens and a kill for Snyder. A pair of points for the Monarchs were split by an Alex Kagoro kill before the Falcons scored three with a kill by Jacob Hamm, a block by Snyder and McConnell, and an ace for Kagoro, bringing the Messiah lead to 19-7. King's notched a point before a solo block by Tyler McConnell that was followed with a pair of points by the Monarchs. The Falcons earned one on an error before King's scored a pair, bringing the score to 21-12. Jonathan Nixon connected with Jake Eby for the kill before the Monarchs scored one. Nixon then connected with Sean Gillespie for the kill before picking up a solo block to bring the score to 24-13. The Monarchs scored two before an error gave the Falcons set point, earning a 25-15 win and taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Third Set
After exchanging early points in set three, the Falcons scored a pair on a Monarchs error and an ace for Todd Snyder to take an early 3-2 lead. King's scored one before the Falcons went on a four point run. The Messiah run included a par of kills for Jake Eby from Brandon Sharp and a pair of aces for Brayden Parks as the Messiah lead grew to 7-3. The teams traded points, including a kill by Alex Kagoro before the Falcons added a pair on an error by King's and a kill for Todd Snyder. Kagoro, Snyder, and Parks added kills as the Falcons advantage moved to 14-8. Parks added a pair of kills sandwiched with a pair of King's points, bringing the score to 16-10. The advantage held at six points after the teams split the next four points with the Falcons collecting kills by Jake Eby and Brandon Sharp. The Monarchs tacked on a point before a kill by Tyler McConnell. A kill for the Monarchs was followed with a four point run for the Falcons. Messiah added points on three errors for the Monarchs and an ace for Sean Gillespie, taking a 23-15 lead. The Monarchs scored a point before Cooper Henseler found Ethan Earhart for the kill. A point for King's was followed by a service error for the Monarchs and the Falcons took set three with a score of 25-17 and won the match 3-0.

Stats
Todd Snyder led the Falcons, hitting .533 with nine kills. He added two service aces, a block, and a dig to his stat line. Tyler McConnell had eight kills, hitting .500 with two blocks and a dig. Brandon Sharp led the Falcons with 35 assists and added two kills. Conner Stauffer had six digs while Brayden Parks added six service aces from the line.

Up Next
The Falcons will take the week off from competition with Spring Break and will return to action on Wednesday, March 19, when they host Stevens Institute of Technology for a Top 10 match-up. Action is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday night.