ASHLAND, Va. – The No. 6 Messiah Men's Volleyball team was in action at Randolph-Macon College today for a tri-match against Eastern Mennonite University and Randolph-Macon College. Messiah earned a 3-1 win in each match, defeating EMU with set scores of 25-15, 25-19, 19-25, and 25-19 before defeating Randolph-Macon with set scores of 25-22, 22-25, 25-18, and 25-20. Alex Kagoro tallied 40 kills, including 27 against Randolph-Macon. Todd Snyder totalled 21, hitting .606 on the afternoon. Jake Eby added seven blocks and Brandon Sharp collected 77 assists.

The Falcons return to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, when they host Penn State Altoona.

No. 6 Messiah University (3) vs Eastern Mennonite University (1)

First Set
The Falcons started the day with a kill for Todd Snyder on an overpass and a service ace from Brandon Sharp. The Royals scored a pair before Sharp connected with Alex Kagoro. The teams traded points with Tyler McConnell finding Kagoro for a kill. With the teams tied 6-6, Messiah scored four straight with a kill from Jake Eby, a pair of service aces for Sean Gillespie, and a kill from McConnell to give the Falcons a 10-6 lead. A kill from Snyder extended the lead to 12-7 before a kill from McConnell and an error from the Royals gave Messiah a 14-8 lead. The Royals brought it within two with Kagoro tallying a kill before a three-point run with back-to-back kills for Alex Kagoro from Brandon Sharp followed by a block from Jake Eby and Tyler Good gave Messiah a 19-14 lead. After a service error, the Falcons earned six points to take the set 25-15. Tyler good, Tyler McConnell, and Jake Eby each tallied a kill. A block from Brandon Sharp and Eby ended the set and gave Messiah the 1-0 match lead.

Second Set
Messiah opened set two with a 3-0 lead behind a pair of kills for Todd Snyder from Brandon Sharp and a solo block from Snyder. Alex Kagoro tallied a kill and a pair of errors from the Royals gave Messiah the 6-3 lead. Jake Eby tallied a kill as the teams traded points before a kill for Tyler McConnell from Sharp gave the Falcons an 11-8 lead. Kagoro tallied a pair of kills and Jake Eby added one from Aidan Dunwoody for a 15-12 Messiah lead before Eastern Mennonite notched the score at 15-15. A kill from Kagoro and a solo block from Eby gave Messiah the lead at 17-15 before a kill from Eby, error from the Royals, and service ace from Sean Gillespie extended the lead to 20-16. A pair of kills for Tyler McConnell and one from Todd Snyder gave Messiah a 23-17 lead before a kill from Snyder and a service error from the Royals gave Messiah the 25-19 set two win and the 2-0 match lead.

Third Set
Eastern Mennonite took an early 5-2 lead in the third set before a solo block from Jake Eby brought the score to 5-3 in favor of the Royals. A kill for Eby from Brandon Sharp and a service ace from Tyler Good cut the deficit to one. Messiah then took an 8-7 lead with a kill for Sharp from Good, a service ace for Sean Gillespie, and an error from the Royals. The teams traded points with Todd Snyder tallying a pair of kills to bring the score to 10-10. Eastern Mennonite regained the lead at 15-12, earning five of six points as a kill from Snyder was the only point from the Falcons. A kill from Jake Eby was followed by a pair of points for the Royals before a kill from Brandon Sharp made it 17-14 in favor of the Royals. Sharp notched a kill on an overpass before Sean Gillespie to cut the deficit back to two. The Royals scored seven of the next nine points to earn the 25-19 win and force a set four.

Fourth Set
Messiah earned the first two points of set four with a kill for Alex Kagoro from Brandon Sharp and a block from Todd Snyder and Tyler McConnell. Messiah extended their lead to 5-1 with a kill from Snyder, error from the Royals, and a service ace for McConnell. The teams traded points with Jake Eby tallying a kill before Kagoro notched a kill and Tyler Good connected with Tyler McConnell for a kill to give Messiah the 9-5 lead. McConnell tallied a pair of kills and a service error for the Royals followed by a service ace for Sharp extended the Messiah lead to 13-7. The Royals cut the deficit to one at 15-14 before the Falcons earned a pair on an Eastern Mennonite error and a service ace from Alex Kagoro. The teams traded points before the Royals tied it at 18-18. Messiah scored a pair with a kill for Tyler McConnell and a block for Brandon Sharp and Todd Snyder before the Royals brought the score to 20-19 in favor of the Falcons. Messiah earned the 25-19 win, tallying five straight to end the set. McConnell, Alex Kagoro, and Todd Snyder each tallied kills while Snyder added a solo block. The Falcons claimed the match 3-1 with the 25-19 set win.

Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 13 kills while Tyler McConnell added 12 and Todd Snyder adding 11. Snyder also added four blocks. Brandon Sharp dished out 38 assists, with Sean Gillespie adding five service aces. Tyler Good led the Falcons with nine digs and Aidan Dunwoody added eight.

No. 6 Messiah University (3) vs Randolph-Macon College (1)

First Set
The Falcons took a commanding 5-0 lead to open the first set, with Alex Kagoro finding Tyler McConnell for the opening point before Todd Snyder found Aidan Dunwoody for two kills in two points for Messiah. Brandon Sharp then found Snyder for a kill before a Yellow Jackets error. The 5-0 run concluded with a kill for Kagoro from Dunwoody. An error for Randolph-Macon and a solo block from Snyder extended the lead to 7-1. Snyder and Kagoro each tallied kills before Snyder notched a service ace to give Messiah a 10-2 advantage. As the teams traded points, a pair of kills for McConnell brought the score to 13-6 in favor of the Falcons. The Yellow Jackets cut the deficit with four straight points before the Falcons added a kill for Tyler McConnell from Alex Kagoro and a kill for Todd Snyder on an overpass. Kagoro tallied a pair on an overpass and on an assist from Dunwoody to extend the lead to 17-11. The Yellow Jackets scored six of the next seven points to cut the deficit to one, with Messiah holding a slight 18-17 advantage. The teams traded points before Messiah scored three straight on a pair of errors from Randolph-Macon and a kill from Todd Snyder to take a 24-20 lead. The Yellow Jackets tallied a pair of kills before a kill from Brandon Sharp to Todd Snyder gave Messiah the 25-22 first set win and the 1-0 match lead.

Second Set
Tyler McConnell and Todd Snyder combined for a block to give the Falcons the first point before a kill for Alex Kagoro from Brandon Sharp made it 2-2. As the teams traded the next eight points, Sharp and Kagoro connected twice more before Sharp found Jake Eby for a pair of kills to bring the score to 6-6. The Yellow Jackets took a 10-6 lead before Kagoro tallied a kill and Todd Snyder tallied a pair to cut the deficit to two at 11-9. A kill from Kagoro brought the score to 12-10 in favor of Randolph-Macon before the Yellow Jackets took a 13-10 lead on a service error. The Falcons took the lead back at 15-13 on a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills for Kagoro, one for Eby, a block from Eby and Sharp, and a block from Eby and Tyler Good. Jake Eby tallied two kills before the teams traded points with a kill for Alex Kagoro from Brandon Sharp giving Messiah the 20-19 lead. Randolph-Macon scored six of the next eight to take set two 25-22 and level the match at 1-1.

Third Set
The Falcons started in a 3-1 deficit, with only a kill from Tyler McConnell on an overpass. Brandon Sharp found Alex Kagoro for a pair of kills to bring the score to 4-3 in favor of the Yellow Jackets before Randolph-Macon extended their lead to 6-3. The Falcons then scored seven straight that saw a kill and an ace from Kagoro and a solo block from Tyler Good as Messiah took a 10-6 lead. The Falcons scored back-to-back points on kills from overpasses, first from Alex Kagoro then from Jake Eby. After a Randolph-Macon kill, Brandon Sharp notched a kill of his own on an overpass for the 13-9 Messiah lead. McConnell and Kagoro each tallied kills and a service error for the Yellow Jackets gave Messiah the 16-13 lead. Todd Snyder and Kagoro tallied kills before a service error brought the score to 18-16 in favor of the Falcons. Messiah went on a 5-0 run with kills from Jake Eby and Tyler McConnell and three errors for the Yellow Jackets to extend their lead to 23-16. A pair of errors from Randolph-Macon gave Messiah the 25-18 set three win and 2-1 advantage in the match.

Fourth Set
The Falcons and Yellow Jackets traded early points with Brandon Sharp connecting with Alex Kagoro for a pair of early kills before a kill for Tyler Good. Kagoro tallied a kill before both Jake Eby and Todd Snyder added one to bring the score to 7-7. The Falcons took an 11-10 lead after a block from Good and Eby and a kill for Eby on an overpass. The teams traded points again, with Kagoro tallying a pair of kills, before a three point run from the Falcons with a kill from Snyder and a service ace from Sean Gillespie to take a 16-13 lead. Alex Kagoro found Tyler McConnell for a kill before Aidan Dunwoody connected with Kagoro to take an 18-14 lead. The Yellow Jackets were quick to equalize the score with four straight points. Kagoro notched a kill and a Randolph-Macon service error gave Messiah the 20-19 lead. After a service error, Messiah tallied five straight with Jake Eby tallying a pair of kills, Alex Kagoro collecting a service ace and Aidan Dunwoody finding Brandon Sharp for a kill to claim set four 25-20 and earning the 3-1 match win.

Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 27 kills, adding two service aces. Jake Eby added 11 kills while Todd Snyder added 10, hitting .588 in the match. Brandon Sharp and Aidan Dunwoody each tallied nine digs, while Sharp dished out 39 assists.

Up Next
The Falcons return to Jordan Court in Hitchcock Arena at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, when they host Penn State Altoona.