HOBOKEN, N.J. – The No. 7 Messiah Men's Volleyball team traveled to Stevens Institute of Technology to take on the Ducks in the MAC Championship match on Saturday, April 12. The Ducks earned the sweep with set scores of 25-23, 25-18, 25-20. Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 14 kills, two service aces, and nine digs. Jacob Hamm and Tyler McConnell each added seven kills.

The Falcons will find out if their season is extended via an at large bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament on Monday, April 14 at 10:00 a.m. on NCAA.com.

First Set
The Falcons and Ducks were trading points early in the match with Ryan Givens and Alex Kagoro picking up kills. Kills from Tyler McConnell from Kagoro and Todd Snyder from Brandon Sharp brought the score to 6-5 in favor of Stevens. A pair of kills for McConnell notched the score at 7-7. Messiah took an 11-9 lead with a kill by Kagoro, an error for the Ducks, and a pair of kills for Ryan Givens. The Falcons took a 15-12 lead with kills from Kagoro and Jacob Hamm, forcing a Stevens timeout. The Falcons extended the lead to 17-13 with a kill from Snyder and a service ace from Kagoro. A service ace from Seth Graybill gave Messiah a 20-14 lead, forcing Stevens to use their second timeout. Brandon Sharp and Ryan Givens combined for a block out of the timeout to take the score to 20-14. Stevens scored five straight to cut the deficit to one, with Messiah holding a 20-19 lead. A kill by Tyler McConnell was followed by three points for Stevens to take a 22-21 lead and forcing a Messiah timeout. After a service error for Stevens and a kill from Alex Kagoro, the score was tied 23-23 before the Ducks claimed the next two to take set one 25-23.

Second Set
Messiah took a 3-1 lead with a kill from Brandon Sharp, a kill from Tyler McConnell and an ace from McConnell. Stevens scored five of the next six to take a 6-4 lead. After a service error, the Ducks paired a kill and block to extend their lead to 8-5. The Falcons brought the score to 10-8 in favor of Stevens on kills from Todd Snyder, McConnell, and Jacob Hamm. Stevens scored six of the next eight to jump to a 16-9 lead. The Falcons and Ducks traded the next six points with Hamm collecting a kill for the Falcons as the Ducks maintained their advantage at 19-12. Jacob Hamm then secured a kill from Brandon Sharp before Tyler McConnell picked up a solo block as the score moved to 20-14. The Falcons scored a pair with a kill from McConnell and a Stevens error before the Ducks took a 22-17 lead. The teams traded service errors before an ace and block sealed set two for the Ducks with a score of 25-18 to take a 2-0 match lead.

Third Set
Stevens took a 4-3 lead in the third set while Alex Kagoro picked up a pair of kills from Brandon Sharp and Jacob Hamm added one. Stevens scored three to extend their lead to 7-3. The Falcons took three of the next four points with Todd Snyder notching a kill before a pair from Kagoro brought the score to 8-6 in favor of the Ducks. Stevens then scored five of the next six, with Alex Kagoro setting Brandon Sharp for a kill, to extend their lead to 13-7. The score moved to 18-12 as the teams traded the next 10 points. In the stretch, Kagoro and Hamm notched kills for Messiah. After Stevens scored a second point at the end of the alternating run, the Falcons and Ducks traded the next six with Givens, Kagoro, and Sharp each earning a kill as the score came to 22-15. The Falcons looked to build momentum as they won three straight on a pair of kills by Alex Kagoro and a service ace for Kagoro to bring the score to 22-18. Kills from Jacob Hamm and Ryan Givens were not enough as Stevens took set three 25-20 and earned the 3-0 sweep to be named the 2025 Middle Atlantic Conference Men's Volleyball Champions.

Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 14 kills, two service aces, and nine digs. Jacob Hamm and Tyler McConnell each added seven kills. Brandon Sharp dished out 31 assists, picking up three kills. Conner Stauffer added eight digs.

Up Next
The Falcons will find out if their season is extended via an at large bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament during the Selection Show on Monday, April 14 at 10:00 a.m. on NCAA.com.