The Lancaster Bible College men's volleyball team lost in straight sets to nationally ranked #6 Messiah University on Wednesday night. The Chargers are now 9-5 overall and the Falcons improve to 16-2 overall and 1-0 in the MAC.

How it Happened: Senior Elijah Herb got the Chargers started strong with a kill, then the Falcons pulled ahead 4-2 after some strong points. After falling behind 10-5, a combination of kills from Herb and Kevin Koch pulled Lancaster within two points of the lead. Later in the set, a well-placed kill from freshman Jake Rotelle brought the Chargers within one, making the score 14-13. Messiah put together a strong run to pull away, but some errors from the Falcons helped the Chargers remain in striking distance. Messiah took the first set by a score of 25-20.

After trading the first few points, Herb landed a pair of kills to tie the game at four apiece. Herb continued to swing strong, with another kill giving LBC an 8-7 lead. Herb later landed Lancaster Bible's first service ace of the night to pull ahead 13-11 midway through the set, then Dawson Forney smashed a kill to give LBC a three-point lead. The Falcons and Chargers continued to trade points for several minutes with neither team leading by more than one or two. Messiah pulled ahead late by three, but Forney landed a kill to keep the Chargers going. However, the Falcons were able to close set two and win 25-21 to take a 2-0 match lead.

The Falcons jumped to a 4-1 lead early in the third set, but Hunter Davis knocked a kill to keep the Chargers within two. A pair of blocks from Forney and Koch helped LBC stay within two, making the score 9-7. Messiah went on a quick run to take a large advantage, causing LBC to be down by 5+ for most of the set. Messiah proved to be too much for the Chargers, claiming a 25-15 set-three win and a sweep for the night.

Inside the Numbers
- Elijah Herb led the Chargers with 13 kills and a service ace
- Dawson Forney added eight kills and two blocks
- Freshman setter Christian Herr paced the offense with 25 assists and had a team-high six digs
- The Falcons won the matchup in blocks (10-6) and service aces (5-2)
- Mason Nissley led the way for Messiah with a game-high 15 kills and nine digs
 
Information to Know: The Chargers are now 2-3 all-time against Messiah, with the Falcons winning the last three matchups. This includes last year's match at the Horst Athletic Center where the first set went to 33-31 with the Falcons winning 3-0. Freshman Christian Herr surpassed 500 assists for the season, becoming just the eighth player in program history to record 500+ assists in a single season just 14 matches into 2023.
 
Up Next: The men's volleyball team will return home for an action-packed weekend at the Horst Athletic Center beginning on Friday, March 3^rd when they host nationally-ranked UC Santa Cruz at 4:30 p.m.