By: Messiah Athletic Communications

LEXINGTON, Va. – The No. 8 Messiah Men's Volleyball team took on the No. 2 Southern Virginia Knights in the Quarterfinal Round of the NCAA DIII Men's Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, April 19. The Falcons took set one 30-28 before the Knights won three straight with scores of 25-19, 25-22, and 25-18 to win the match 3-1 and advance to the NCAA Final Four. Brandon Sharp and Ryan Givens were named to the All-Region Tournament Team for their performances this weekend.

Set One
After a first serve kill by the Knights, Brandon Sharp connected with Alex Kagoro for an early 1-1 score. The Falcons added a block from Ryan Givens and Tyler McConnell to make it 2-2 before SVU scored four straight to jump to a 6-2 lead. The Knights scored four of the next six with the Falcons notching points on a kill from Kagoro and a service error from SVU as the Knights took a 10-4 lead and the Falcons called a timeout. The Knights scored out of the timeout before Messiah scored a pair on a Knights' error and McConnell kill. The teams traded errors, bringing the score to 14-7 in favor of SVU before the Falcons scored four straight. The run started with a kill for Ryan Givens from Brandon Sharp and included a service ace for Brayden Parks, a second kill from Givens, and a block for Givens, McConnell and Sharp to cut the deficit to three and force an SVU timeout with a 14-11 lead. Out of the break, Messiah tied the score at 16-16, taking five of the next seven points, highlighted by blocks from Todd Snyder and Alex Kagoro and Snyder and Sharp. A kill from Kagoro and error from the Knights gave the Falcons an 18-17 lead. The Knights scored a pair before Alex Kagoro notched a kill and a pair of errors for the Knights gave Messiah a 21-19 lead, forcing a second SVU timeout. The Knights took the lead back at 24-23 while Jacob Hamm and Givens notched kills for the Falcons and Messiah took their second timeout. The teams traded points with Givens and Kagoro picking up kills as the Knights took a 28-27 lead. After a service error from the Knights tied the score at 28-28, Todd Snyder connected with Tyler McConnell for a kill before Ryan Givens and Jacob Hamm combined for a block to take set one 30-28 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set Two
Messiah continued their momentum from set one with Brandon Sharp finding Todd Snyder for the opening kill. The teams traded points before the Falcons took a 3-2 lead with a kill from Alex Kagoro. The Knights took a 6-4 lead before the teams traded the next eight points with Kagoro, Snyder, and Hamm each picking up a kill. The Falcons and Knights continued trading points with Kagoro picking up a pair of kills as Messiah cut the deficit to one at 13-12. The Knights scored a pair before the media timeout and scored a pair out of the break to force a Messiah timeout with SVU leading 17-12. The teams continued with back-and-forth play as Snyder and Givens picked up kills and Givens and Hamm combined for a block as the score came to 20-17 in favor of SVU. The teams traded service errors before a Knights kill. An SVU error made it 23-19 in favor of the Knights before a pair of errors gave SVU the 25-19 win to tie the match 1-1.

Set Three
As the first two sets proved the competitiveness of the two teams, the third set began at even play once again. Todd Snyder notched a kill of a set from Brandon Sharp before Sharp connected with Alex Kagoro and Jacob Hamm to bring the score to 4-2 in favor of the Falcons. Messiah held a 6-5 lead after a kill from Ryan Givens before the Knights scored a pair. The Falcons maintained a one-point advantage at 10-9 with Kagoro notching a kill and Snyder and Hamm combining for a block. The Knights scored six of the next seven with Alex Kagoro notching a kill off a set from Brandon Sharp for Messiah. As the Knights took a 15-11 lead, a media timeout gave the Falcons a chance to talk as they scored three straight on a kill from Kagoro and a pair of errors for the Knights and Messiah cut the deficit to one at 15-14. SVU scored a pair before a kill for McConnell. Messiah then scored three on a kill from Kagoro and a pair of errors from the Knights to tie the score at 18-18. The teams traded the next five points as the score came to 21-20 in favor of the Knights before an error from the Knights and a block from Todd Snyder and Jacob Hamm shifted the lead in favor of Messiah at 22-21, forcing the Knights to call a timeout. The Knights took a 24-22 lead before the Falcons called a timeout, but SVU secured a block to take set three 25-22 and take the 2-1 lead in the match.

Set Four
The Knights had the upper hand to open the fourth set, taking a 2-0 lead before a service error gave the Falcons a point. Brandon Sharp connected with Alex Kagoro before Sharp notched a solo block to tie the score 3-3. SVU took an 8-6 lead with Jacob Hamm and Alex Kagoro each notching kills. SVU scored four of the next six, taking a 12-8 lead before a Messiah timeout. The Falcons scored three straight with a kill from Ryan Givens and a pair of Knights errors to cut the deficit to one at 12-11. After trading service errors, the teams traded kills with Alex Kagoro bringing the score to 14-13 in favor of SVU before the Falcons tied it at 14-14 with a solo block from Todd Snyder. The Knights took the lead with a kill and ace before Messiah scored three on a kill from Jacob Hamm, a service ace from Alex Kagoro, and an error by the Knights to regain the lead 17-16. After a kill for the Knights and a kill for Todd Snyder from Brandon Sharp, the Knights took a 20-18 and Head Coach Justin Beachy called Messiah's second timeout. The Knights scored five straight, taking set four 25-18 and winning the match 3-1.

Stats
Alex Kagoro led all players with 18 kills and added a block, an ace, and eight digs. Ryan Givens had eight kills with five blocks. Brandon Sharp dished out 36 assists and added four blocks and seven digs. Todd Snyder had five kills with five blocks while Jacob Hamm had five kills and four blocks. Conner Stauffer had seven digs and an assist for the Falcons. Brandon Sharp and Ryan Givens were named to the All-Region Tournament Team for their performances this weekend.