ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - Eastern Men's Volleyball faced its toughest test of the season against No. 6 Messiah on Thursday night at The NEST. Despite a valiant effort from the home side, Eastern failed to win a single set in a 3-0 loss to its MAC foe. Colby Arvesen led the Eagles with 10 kills and eight digs, while Kaodi Wokocha finished with eight kills and two service aces. Ronan Landis led the Eagles with 26 assists.

The Eagles got off to a strong start in the opening, grabbing an early 3-1 lead on blocks from Trey Broussard and Connor Tucholski and a service ace from Wokocha. Messiah scored five straight to go up 6-3, and the two teams battled back and forth for the next several points. With the Falcons leading 16-15, the Eagles scored three straight points, which included a kill and block from Wokocha. However, the Falcons responded with a 9-1 run to close the first set with a 25-19 win.

The Eagles built another early lead in set two, going up 5-2 on kills from Mattiace, Landis, and Connor Tucholski. Messiah, again, bounced back with a 7-2 surge to go up 9-7. The Eagles kept it close the rest of the set, but could not get any closer than one point in a 25-20 loss.

The third set was more of the same. The Eagles built early leads of 8-5 and 10-7, but could not hold that advantage. With the set tied 16-16, the Falcons ended the match on a 9-4 run to secure a 25-20 win and a three-set sweep.

Eastern (9-8. 1-1) will be back in action on Saturday at LBC for a tri-match with the Chargers and nationally ranked Southern Virginia. First match is set for 11:00 am.