HOBOKEN, N.J. – The Messiah Men's Volleyball team finished as the 2026 Middle Atlantic Conference Men's Volleyball runner-up after dropping the championship match to Stevens Institute 3-1 on Saturday night. The Ducks took set one in dominant fashion before the Falcons leveled the match at 1-1 after taking set two 25-22. The push from Messiah was not enough as the Ducks claimed the next two sets 25-21 and 25-23 to earn the 3-1 win and their fifth straight MAC title.
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 20 kills while
Tyler McConnell added 13.
Aidan Dunwoody led Messiah with 13 digs and
Tyler Good tallied 12.
Brandon Sharp dished out 44 assists and collected 10 digs.
With the loss, the Falcons will wait to learn if they receive an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament. The selection show is slated for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 13 and can be viewed at
ncaa.com.
First Set
Stevens showed their dominance in the first set, take a 6-0 lead to open play before
Brandon Sharp found
Tyler Good for a kill. Sharp then found
Alex Kagoro for a kill before the Ducks took a 16-3 lead. Following an error from the Ducks, Stevens brought the score to 20-4 before a kill from Good.
Alex Kagoro added a kill before the Ducks took set one 25-6.
Second Set
The Falcons took a 2-1 lead in set two after a kill for
Tyler McConnell from
Brandon Sharp. The Falcons and Ducks traded points for much of the set with Sharp finding
Todd Snyder and
Alex Kagoro for kills as the score moved to 6-6.
Tyler Good and Sharp each tallied kills before a kill from
Tyler McConnell and one from Kagoro brought the score to 11-10 in favor of Stevens.
Todd Snyder picked up a solo block before
Alex Kagoro tallied a pair of kills split by a kill from
Tyler Good as Stevens maintained a one-point advantage at 16-15. Messiah took the lead after a pair of errors for Stevens and a solo block from
Tyler McConnell gave the Falcons an 18-17 lead. After a kill from Kagoro, the Ducks tied the score at 19-19 before a three point run for the Falcons that included a kill for Kagoro from
Aidan Dunwoody and a block from Kagoro and
Jake Eby gave Messiah a 22-19 lead.
Jake Eby and
Tyler Good tallied kills before
Brandon Sharp found
Tyler McConnell for a kill and the 25-22 set two win to level the match 1-1.
Third Set
Brandon Sharp connected with
Tyler McConnell,
Todd Snyder, and
Alex Kagoro for early kills as Stevens took a 4-3 lead. The Ducks extended their lead to 8-3 before a kill for McConnell and error from the Ducks. Sharp found Kagoro for a kill before hitting
Tyler Good for a pair. A kill for Kagoro cut the deficit to two at 11-9.
Tyler McConnell and
Todd Snyder tallied kills before a service ace from McConnell brought the score to 15-13 in favor of Stevens. Kills from Kagoro and
Jake Eby and a service ace from Good brought the score to 20-17 in favor of Stevens before the ducks extended their lead to 22-17. Messiah scored a pair on an error from Stevens and a kill from
Tyler McConnell, but the Ducks took a 24-19 lead with a pair of their own. McConnell notched a pair of kills from
Brandon Sharp and
Aidan Dunwoody before the Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the match after taking set three 25-21.
Fourth Set
The Falcons and Ducks continued back-and-forth play in the fourth set with
Jake Eby,
Tyler McConnell, and
Alex Kagoro tallying early kills for the Falcons. A pair of kills for Kagoro from
Brandon Sharp and a solo block from
Tyler Good brought the score to 7-6 in favor of the Ducks. A pair of kills and a service ace for Kagoro gave Messiah a 9-8 lead as the teams continued to battle. Messiah extended their lead with kills from
Tyler Good and
Tyler McConnell before a pair of errors for the Ducks gave the Falcons a 13-10 lead.
Brandon Sharp connected with
Todd Snyder and
Alex Kagoro for kills before finding McConnell as the score came to 16-13 in favor of Messiah. Kagoro and Good added kills from Sharp for a 19-16 lead before Stevens notched the score at 19-19. The Ducks responded to a kill from Kagoro with a pair of kills to take a 21-20 lead.
Brandon Sharp connected with
Tyler McConnell for a kill to bring the score to 23-22 before a kill from the Ducks claimed set four 25-23 as Stevens took the match 3-1, claiming their fifth-straight MAC Championship.
Stats
Alex Kagoro led the Falcons with 20 kills while
Tyler McConnell added 13.
Aidan Dunwoody led Messiah with 13 digs and
Tyler Good tallied 12.
Brandon Sharp dished out 44 assists and collected 10 digs.
Up Next
With the loss, the Falcons will wait to learn if they receive an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Volleyball Tournament. The selection show is slated for 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 13 and can be viewed at
ncaa.com.
