HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Thiel College men's volleyball team fell in straight sets to Continental Volleyball Conference (CVC) opponent Eastern Mennonite University and nonconference opponent Messiah College on Saturday.

The Tomcats kept it close with the Royals in the first set as they fell 25-19 to fall behind one set to none before the Royals took the second set by a commanding 15 point margin (25-10). Thiel was unable to extend the match in third as EMU took the set 25-16 to sweep the match.

Thiel found a similar fate in their second match of the day as they were swept 3-0 by Messiah College. Thiel dropped the first set 25-16 before dropping a tightly contested second set 25-23. The Falcons end the match with a 25-20 set victory in the third set.

Leaders for the Tomcats on the day were Jacob DeRue (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) with 15 kills and Mitchell Patterson (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) with 14 kills in two matches. Jacob Burkley (Waterford, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf) added nine blocks on the day.

With the pair of losses, The Tomcats fall to 9-13 and 3-8 in the CVC. Thiel will be back in action on Wednesday as they play host to Penn State Altoona for their final game at Beeghly Gymnasium on the year. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.