GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 5 ranked Messiah Men's Volleyball team began the 2026 season on Saturday, with a home tri-match against the Cairn University Highlanders and the Grove City College Wolverines. The Falcons went 2-0 on the day, taking down Cairn in three quick sets (25-11, 25-10, 25-11) and getting another sweep against Grove City (25-13, 25-11, 25-18).
 
Against Cairn, the teams traded points early in set one before the Falcons pulled away to take it. Messiah used early leads in the next two sets to win each comfortably, completing the sweep. Tyler Good led the Falcons with 11 kills. Brandon Sharp had 21 assists and four digs. Sean Gillespie had six aces. In match two, the Falcons kept rolling, taking the first two sets quickly. The Wolverines showed some fight in the third set, but Messiah was too much to overcome, taking the set and match. Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with nine kills and two service aces. Brandon Sharp had 27 assists. Aidan Dunwoody had seven digs, and Jake Eby had 5.5 total blocks.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Misericordia University for the Cougar Kickoff Classic, beginning the tournament against No. 11 Wentworth Institute of Technology on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7:00 p.m.
 
Match One: Messiah – 3, Cairn – 0
Set One
Alex Kagoro started the set with two kills and then combined with Jake Eby for a block to give Messiah a quick 3-0 advantage. Eby tacked on a kill and Kagoro dropped in a service ace, but Cairn kept it close, with Messiah up 5-4. Everett Macurda scored a kill to start a 5-0 run, with Sean Gillespie scoring two service aces and Alex Kagoro adding two more kills to make 10-4. The Falcons offense stayed hot, with Tyler McConnell, Todd Snyder, Alex Kagoro, and Jake Eby each adding multiple kills to cruise to a 25-11 set win.
 
Set Two
Three kills from Tyler Good, two from Ethan Earhart, and one from Everett Macurda gave the Falcons an 8-2 lead. Jake Eby added a kill and paired up with Tyler Good for a double block, followed by a service ace from Seth Graybill as Messiah kept up the pressure, leading 11-2. Eby and Good combined for another block, and they each tacked on kills to make it 16-3. Good, Sean Gillespie, Ethan Earhart, and Connor Himelfarb each added kills as Messiah closed out the set, winning 25-10.
 
Set Three
Sean Gillespie dropped in multiple service aces and a kill, and Seth Rajnic added two kills to help Messiah jump out to a 9-2 lead. Gillespie and Connor Himelfarb each added two kills as the Falcons continued to push, leading 19-9. Tyler Good and Ethan Earhart each added a kill, with Good and Himelfarb each adding a service ace as the Falcons closed out a 25-11 set win, winning the match in straight sets.
 
Stats
Tyler Good led the Falcons with 11 kills. Brandon Sharp had 21 assists and four digs. Sean Gillespie had six aces. Alex Kagoro had six kills. Jake Eby added five kills and five block assists. Cooper Henseler added 10 assists.
 
Match Two: Messiah – 3, Grove City – 0
Set One
Kills from Jake Eby and Alex Kagoro propelled the Falcons to a 6-0 lead. Sean Gillespie tallied a service ace, and Tyler McConnell added a kill, with the Falcons leading 11-6 midway through the set. Todd Snyder picked up two kills and a service, with Messiah still leading 14-11. Jake Eby and Everett Macurda each grabbed a kill and combined for a double block to make it 17-11, forcing a Wolverines timeout. The timeout didn't slow the Falcons down, with Eby, Macurda, and Todd Snyder all picking up kills en route to a 25-13 set win.
 
Set Two
Alex Kagoro tallied three early kills, with Messiah up 9-5. Messiah then pulled away with four straight blocks to make it 13-6. Jake Eby played a role in all four blocks, combining with Brandon Sharp for two, Everett Macurda for one, and picking up a solo block. Alex Kagoro and Tyler McConnell each picked up two more kills, with Jake Eby and Everett Macurda each adding one kill to give Messiah the set, 25-11.
 
Set Three
Alex Kagoro started the set with a kill, with Ethan Earhart and Everett Macurda combining for a block to make it 4-2, Messiah. Macurda tallied a kill and combined with Jake Eby for a block to push the lead seven, with the Falcons up 10-3. Tyler Good added a kill and Adam McGarvey dropped in a service ace, but Grove City started to chip away at the lead, down 14-9. The Falcons got the lead back to seven points with kills from Alex Kagoro, Everett Macurda, and Ethan Earhart making it 19-12. The Wolverines then went on a five-point run to get within two, with the Falcons up 19-17. However, Grove City would only score one more point the rest of the way, with kills from Sean Gillespie, Brandon Sharp, and Connor Himelfarb closing out the set, 25-18.
 
Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with nine kills and two service aces. Bradon Sharp had 27 assists. Aidan Dunwoody had seven digs, and Jake Eby had 5.5 total blocks Everett Macurda added seven kills.
 
Up Next
The Falcons travel to Misericordia University for the Cougar Kickoff Classic, beginning the tournament against No. 11 Wentworth Institute of Technology on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7:00 p.m.