INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – On Monday morning, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced the bracket for the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Championship. The Messiah University Men's Volleyball team earned an at-large bid and will travel to Lexington, Va. for opening weekend hosted by Southern Virginia University at Washington & Lee University. Messiah will take the court at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 18 against the Chargers of Lancaster Bible College.
Messiah has a season record of 25-3 and 7-1 in MAC Commonwealth play. The Falcons enter the tournament via an at-large bid after being defeated by Stevens Institute of Technology in the MAC Championship match. Lancaster Bible College is 23-7 with a conference record of 8-0. The Chargers enter the tournament after a 3-0 sweep over Wilson College in the United East
Championship match.
Messiah holds a 4-2 record against Lancaster Bible College, defeating them earlier this season 3-0 at home.
St. Joseph's (L.I.) defeated Thiel College in a First Round match on Thursday, April 17, and will face host Southern Virginia in the 4:00 p.m. match. The winners of the Second Round matches will compete at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 19 in the Quarterfinal.
The Falcons enter the national tournament with an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national rank of eight, pursuing their first NCAA Division III National Championship in program history.
General admission for Friday's contest is $15, with senior citizens, students with an ID, and children 4-12 being admitted at $10. Children aged four and under have free admission.
Read below for a quick preview of the NCAA Opening Weekend matchups:
Messiah University Falcons
MAC Runner-Up
25-3 Overall | 7-1 Conference
How They Got Here
The Falcons finished as the MAC Runner-Up as the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks claimed the Championship with a 3-0 sweep.
Messiah finished with a regular season conference record of 7-1 and went 1-1 in MAC Tournament play. The Falcons' offense leads the conference with 16.42 points per set, a .323 hitting percentage, 11.85 assists per set and 13.02 kills per set. The Falcons also lead in opponent assists with 9.12 per set and opponent kills with 9.82 per set.
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Players to Watch:
#4
Alex Kagoro – Junior outside hitter – 378 kills, 4.20 k/s, .295 avg, 29 aces
#22
Ryan Givens – Senior middle hitter – 178 kills, .426 avg, 31 aces, 63 blocks
#9
Brandon Sharp – Sophomore setter – 926 assists, 10.07 a/s, 169 digs, 45 blocks
#1
Todd Snyder – Freshmen middle hitter – 142 kills, .381 avg, 71 blocks
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Messiah has an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 3-2.
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Lancaster Bible College Chargers
United East Conference Champions
23-7 Overall | 8-0 Conference
How They Got Here
The Chargers finished as the United East Conference Champions after defeating Wilson College 3-0.
Lancaster Bible College led the conference in points with 15.52 per set, a .249 hitting percentage, 10.49 assists per set, 11.57 kills per set, and 1.89 blocks per set. The Chargers also led in opponent hitting percentage with .151 and opponent kills with 8.58 per set.
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Players to Watch:
#23 Dawson Forney – Senior outside hitter – 265 kills, 2.91 k/s, .238 avg, 46 blocks
#24 Jordan Yoder – Sophomore outside hitter – 268 kills, 2.76 k/s, .209 avg, 41 aces
#20 Kevin Bryant – Sophomore middle hitter – 122 kills. .424 avg, 71 blocks
#18 Tyler Martin – Junior libero – 559 assists, 5.59 a/s, 203 digs
History Against Messiah
Messiah and Lancaster Bible have met six times with Messiah holding a 4-2 advantage. Earlier this season, the Falcons defeated the Chargers via 3-0 sweep on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Tuesday, February 7.
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St. Joseph's University Long Island Golden Eagles
Skyline Conference Champions
23-8 Overall | 18-0 Conference
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How They Got Here
The Golden Eagles finished as Skyline Conference Champions after defeating New Jersey City University 3-1. The Golden Eagles then defeated Thiel College 3-1 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournment to advance to the second round.
St Joseph's (L.I.) led the conference with a .305 hitting percentage, 2.01 blk/s average, and opponent hitting percentage with .157.
Players to Watch:
#7 Luke MacPherson – Junior outside hitter - 250 kills, 3.21 k/s, .319 avg, 37 aces
#20 Hank Foglia – Junior middle hitter - 172 kills, 2.07 k/s, .407 avg, 95 blocks
#19 Will Kropp – Graduate Student setter - 807 assists, 9.49 a/s, 19 aces, 38 blocks
#24 Tyler Anderson – Graduate Student outside hitter - 163 kills, 1.96 k/s, .244 avg, 59 blocks
History Against Messiah
The Falcons and Golden Eagles have met twice before and have an even record of 1-1 with Messiah earning the 3-1win in the last matchup on April 21, 2023.
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Southern Virginia University Knights
Continental Volleyball Conference Champions
31-1 Overall | 7-0 Conference
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How They Got Here
The Knights finished as Continental Volleyball Conference Champions after defeating Juniata College 3-0.
Southern Virginia led the conference with a .378 hitting percentage and 12.96 k/s.
Players to Watch:
#11 Christian Sheaffer – Senior outside hitter – 369 kills, 4.01 k/s, .451 avg, 62 aces, 83 blocks
#10 Jeremy Brown – Senior outside hitter – 224 kills, 2.52 k/s, .341 avg, 47 aces
#18 Kyler Evans – Senior opposite hitter – 131 kills, .420 avg, 56 blocks
#4 Gehrig Tolman – Sophomore setter – 857 assists, 10.08 a/s, 10 aces, 37 blocks
History Against Messiah
Messiah and Southern Virginia have met five times with the Knights holding a 4-1 advantage. The Knights swept the Falcons 3-0 in their last match on February 23, 2024.
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