WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 15, 2023) -- The King's College men's volleyball team battled from start to finish before falling, 3-0, to #5 Messiah University in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play on Wednesday night in McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs fall to 17-3 overall and 1-1 in the MAC, while the Falcons improve to 17-2 with a 2-0 conference mark.
 
King's (17-3, 1-1 MAC) jumped out of the gate with two kills from senior Joe Herman before Messiah (17-2, 2-0 MAC) rattled off five points to go ahead, 5-2. After trading points, the Falcons built a 19-11 advantage, but the Monarchs would fight till the end before falling, 25-19, in the opening set.
 
Herman would get the Monarchs on the board to start the second, but Messiah would build an 11-8 advantage. The teams traded possessions again, but with King's trailing 15-13, Messiah would go on a 10-2 run to end the set, 25-15, and go ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
With King's trailing 9-8 in the final set, the Falcons used a six-point spurt to hold a 15-8 edge over the Monarchs. It seemed as though Messiah would run away with the set, but with the match on the line and King's facing a 24-17 deficit, the Monarchs would rally to within four, 24-20, off a kill from Herman and a block from first year Owen McFadden and junior Jared Piontkowski. Messiah would have the final say as they claimed set three, 25-20, and the match, 3-0, over the Monarchs.
 
Herman paced the Monarchs offense with 12 kills on 28 attempts and just two errors, hitting .357, while Piontkowski added seven kills. McFadden was efficient at the net, going 6-for-7 with no errors to post a .857 hitting percentage with two blocks, while senior Aziz Atiyeh posted a team-high five digs. Additionally, first year Ben Maskiell dished out 14 assists, and senior George Back tallied 11 helpers.
 
Messiah was led by Mason Nissley and Alex Kagoro with 11 kills each, while Matt Knabb posted 34 assists with eight aces. The Falcons defense was led by a 10-dig effort from Conner Stauffer, while Nate Bowman tallied four blocks.
 
King's hit .214 for the match, totaling 28 kills on 70 attempts, while adding 16 team digs and four blocks.
 
The Monarchs will be back in action on Saturday as they travel to Owings Mills, Md. to take on the host Stevenson University and #1 Stevens Institute of Technology in a MAC tri-match. Action is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.