GRANTHAM, Pa. – The No. 8 Messiah Men's Volleyball team hosted the No. 9 Southern Virginia University Knights for a top 10 match-up on Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena on Saturday afternoon. Messiah earned the 25-17 win in set one before the Knights took set two 26-24. After the Falcons claimed set three 25-21, they trailed the Knights by as much as five before earning the 25-22 set win to earn the 3-1 match win. Alex Kagoro led all players with 18 kills with Tyler McConnell adding 14 kills with three solo blocks. Brandon Sharp dished out 40 assists, including his 2000th career assist as a Messiah Falcon. Sharp and Tyler Good each tallied nine digs with Aidan Dunwoody adding seven. Ethan Earhart collected four solo blocks and one block assist. The Falcons outhit the Knights .240 to .145.

The Falcons return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. for their conference opener at Misericordia University.

First Set
The Falcons started set one with a kill for Tyler McConnell from Alex Kagoro. Brandon Sharp then found Kagoro before an attack error from the Knights gave Messiah a 3-1 lead. The Knights took a 7-5 lead before the Falcons scored five straight with kills from Kagoro and McConnell and a string of errors for Southern Virginia to take a 10-7 lead. Kagoro and Ethan Earhart each tallied kills as the Falcons took a 12-10 lead before an error from the Knights was followed by a service ace for Tyler McConnell and a kill for Ethan Earhart from Brandon Sharp to take a 15-10 lead and force a timeout from Southern Virginia. Out of the break, Earhart crushed a solo block before Tyler Good notched a kill to extend the lead to 17-11. After a kill and service ace for the Knights, Kagoro tallied a kill and service ace to give Messiah the 19-13 win. Tyler Good and Tyler McConnell each tallied a kill before a kill for Alex Kagoro and a solo block from McConnell gave Messiah a 23-16 lead and forced Southern Virginia to take their second timeout. A pair of error for the Knights gave Messiah the 25-17 set one win and the 1-0 match lead.

Second Set
The Falcons and Knights traded early points with Brandon Sharp connecting with Alex Kagoro for a kill before a second kill from Kagoro started a three-point run that saw a block from Brandon Sharp and Todd Snyder give Messiah the 5-3 lead. A solo block from Tyler McConnell extended the lead to 7-4 before kills from Kagoro and McConnell made it 9-4 in favor of Messiah. The Knights took a 12-11 lead before a pair of errors gave Messiah the 13-12 lead. Southern Virginia claimed seven of the next 10 points, extending their lead to 19-16. After the teams traded service errors, Sharp connected with Ethan Earhart for a kill before findings Alex Kagoro for a pair to cut the deficit to two. Errors from the Knights brought the score to 24-24 before a kill and block gave Southern Virginia the 26-24 set two win to notch the match 1-1.

Third Set
The teams came out even for set three, trading the first nine points, including a kill for Tyler Good from Brandon Sharp. The Falcons then tallied three straight kills with one for Alex Kagoro and a pair for Tyler McConnell to take a 7-5 lead. The teams traded service errors before Sharp connected with Kagoro for a pair of kills to extend the lead to 10-7. Southern Virginia notched the score at 11-11 before Messiah earned four straight points on three errors by the Knights and a kill for Alex Kagoro from Tyler McConnell to give the Falcons a 15-11 lead that forced a Southern Virginia timeout. Out of the timeout, Todd Snyder and Alex Kagoro combined for a block before the Knights scored a pair. Brandon Sharp found Tyler Good for a kill before he found McConnell for a pair that gave Messiah a 20-17 lead. Southern Virginia scored a pair to cut the deficit to one before a kill from Kagoro reclaimed the two-point lead. After a service error, Ethan Earhart and Todd Snyder secured back-to-back solo blocks to give Messiah the 23-20 lead and force the second Southern Virginia timeout. Brandon Sharp found Tyler Good for the kill out of the timeout before a kill from Alex Kagoro from Sharp claimed the 25-21 set three victory and gave Messiah the 3-1 match lead.

Fourth Set
In the fourth set, Southern Virginia took an early 6-1 lead, forcing a Messiah timeout. Out of the break, a number of errors for the Knights cut the deficit before Brandon Sharp connected with Tyler McConnell for a kill and Todd Snyder notched a service ace to bring the score to 10-7 in favor of the Knights. After a kill from the Knights, Messiah tallied five straight, with kills from Ethan Earhart and Tyler McConnell and solo blocks from Earhart and McConnell to give Messiah a 12-11 lead. Southern Virginia took a 17-14 lead before a pair of errors from the Knights and a block from Snyder and Sharp leveled the score at 17-17. Kagoro and McConnell each tallied kills before Southern Virginia took a 21-19 lead. Brandon Sharp then connected with Tyler McConnell for back-to-back kills and a block from Earhart and Kagoro gave Messiah the 22-21 lead, forcing a Southern Virginia timeout. An attack error for the Knights out of the break forced them to take their second timeout facing a 23-21 deficit. Ethan Earhart tallied a solo block before a kill for the Knights. A kill for Alex Kagoro from Brandon Sharp solidified the 25-22 set four win and gave Messiah the 3-1 match win over Southern Virginia.

Stats
Alex Kagoro led all players with 18 kills with Tyler McConnell adding 14 kills with three solo blocks. Brandon Sharp dished out 40 assists, including his 2000th career assist as a Messiah Falcon. Sharp and Tyler Good each tallied nine digs with Aidan Dunwoody adding seven. Ethan Earhart collected four solo blocks and one block assist. The Falcons outhit the Knights .240 to .145.

Up Next
The Falcons return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 7:00 p.m. for their conference opener at Misericordia University.