Reading, Pa. (March 31, 2021) - Messiah University (12-2, 12-2) avoided the series sweep against Alvernia University (6-8, 6-8) by defeating the Golden Wolves 3-1 on Wednesday night in MAC Men's Volleyball action at Alvernia.

The Falcons took the first two sets 25-22, and Alvernia took set three 25-18. Messiah finished the match off with a 25-19 set four win.

The Golden Wolves led set one 5-2 early. Alvernia's lead dropped down to 7-5 before Messiah scored on six straight points to take an 11-7 lead. Alvernia responded with a 6-2 run to tie it back up at 13-13 on a kill by Victor de Avila. The teams traded points and were locked in a 21-21 tie before Messiah scored four of the last five for a 25-22 set one win.

In the second set, with Messiah leading 13-8, the Golden Wolves went on a 6-0 run to take a one point 14-13 lead. Messiah responded with a 5-2 run to take an 18-17 lead. With the set tied at 22-22, Messiah rattled off three straight points for the 25-22 set two win.

Messiah jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in set three, but Alvernia would go on a 16-5 run to take a 19-12 lead. Alvernia finished off the set with a kill from Brian Rea and an ace from Josh Stewart for the 25-18 set three win.

Messiah again jumped out to an early lead in set four, leading 9-3, and were able to hang on to the lead for the rest of the set. Alvernia got as close as three points on multiple occasions, including 18-15 late, but were unable to complete the comeback. Messiah finished off the set with a match point kill from Mason Nissley.

Brian Rea finished the match with a .462 attack percentage with six kills on 13 attacks with no errors. Tyler Anderson finished with a team-high 19 kills. Ethyn Burczyk finished with 27 sets, and Mike Monczewski finished with seven blocks.

Alvernia closes out its regular season with a doubleheader at Widener. The Golden Wolves are fighting for a 5th seed, which puts them in the play-in game of the MAC Championship bracket against the #4 seed. If they finish lower than #5, the Golden Wolves will play in the MAC Consolation bracket with seeds #6-9.