BROOKLYN, NY (February 23, 2020) -- The King's College men's volleyball team dominated their road tri-match Sunday afternoon, as they swept both Sarah Lawrence, 3-0, and Pratt Institute, 3-0, at Pratt. The Monarchs defense was stellar as they allowed just 43 points in six sets this afternoon.

vs. Sarah Lawrence (3-0, 25-9, 25-3, 25-8):

The Monarchs stormed out to a commanding 17-3 lead early before the Gryphons traded points over the final stretch as the Monarchs took the set, 25-9. Sarah Lawrence struck first in the second set, but King's answered with seven straight points. After a Monarchs error handed the Gryphons their second point of the set, King's connected on all cylinders as they closed the set on an 18-1 run, earning set two, 25-3. The final set of the match saw the two teams tied early, 2-2, but King's rallied for a 14-2 run to take the lead, 16-4, and earn the win in the final set, 25-8, to sweep the Gryphons, 3-0.

Freshman Joe Joe Herman continued to pace the offense for the Monarchs with 10 kills on 16 attempts, hitting .625 for the match, with four digs and a block. Fellow-freshman Sam Capwell hit well again, adding eight kills with a .600 hitting percentage and five blocks. Rounding out the top-kill totals was sophomore Matt Piontkowski with six terminations, hitting .444. Sophomore Joe Jones Jr. put in a stat-filling effort, recording five kills on six attempts to hit .833 for the match while adding a team-high seven digs and four aces.

Freshman setter George Beck also performed well all around with 30 assists, a perfect four kills on four attempts, four blocks, and two digs. In addition, freshman Misael Hernandez recorded four aces and three digs, while senior libero Kyle Duggan and freshman Aziz Atiyeh both added four digs for the defense.

Sarah Lawrence (2-11, 0-1 Skyline) was led by Felix Massey with six kills, Aaron Ashery with five digs, and Ithai Diakov with eight assists.

King's (13-4, 0-2 MAC) dominated in this match, hitting .569 with 38 kills and just five total errors compared to Sarah Lawrence's -.174 with 11 kills. The Monarchs led inside the box score in aces (11-0), blocks (7-0), assists (33-11), and digs (30-14).

vs. Pratt (3-0, 25-10, 25-6, 25-7):

An early 10-1 lead by the Monarchs held in the first set as a kill by Capwell and a block by sophomore Liam Martinchek gave King's a 25-10 win in the opening set. Another strong start by the Monarchs saw the visitors leading 16-3, and an ace by Jones Jr. put an end to the set with King's ahead, 25-6. The final set of the day was no different than the previous five as King's opened the set on a 10-2 run, allowing just five more points over the final stretch to record a 25-7 set three victory and the 3-0 sweep for the match.

King's (14-4, 0-2 MAC) posted a full team-effort in the win. Herman led with nine kills and four digs, Piontkowski and Capwell added seven terminations each, and Jones Jr. added six kills, eight aces, and six digs. Beck dished out 26 assists, and Martinchek led with three total blocks. For the defense, Duggan totaled three digs, and Atiyeh recorded two digs and two aces.

Pratt (0-11) was led by Devin Dzierba with 10 kills and six digs, while Griffin Levine added 11 assists.

The Monarchs hit an impressive .474 with 32 kills compared to the Cannoneers' -.083 with 14 kills. King's also held the advantage in aces (14-0), blocks (5-0), assists (31-13), and digs (22-13).

The Monarchs will take a well-deserved break as they are off until Tuesday, March 3 as they travel to Lesley University for a doubleheader in Cambridge, MA beginning at 6:00 p.m. They will then resume MAC action with a tri-match with Messiah and Alvernia at Messiah on Saturday, March 7.