ST. DAVIDS, PA (February 5, 2020) -- The King's College men's volleyball team were 2-1 after three sets Wednesday in the first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) contest for the Monarchs, but King's couldn't hold on as host Eastern University rallied to take a five-set thriller over King's with scores of 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22 and 15-10. 

The loss for Kings (5-1, 0-1 MAC) was the first in its program history, having just started varsity competition this winter. The Monarchs held edges in most statistical categories on the night, but a young King's team couldn't overcome some lingering sickness that had been circling the team throughout the week. 

In the opening game, both teams showed off potent offensive attacks as KC and Eastern combined to post 28 kills. The difference was King's efficiency, hitting .440 in the period to take an early 1-0 match lead. Up just one at 16-15, the Monarchs put together a 5-1 run to take a 21-16 lead.

Eastern (3-2, 1-0 MAC) rallied to within two at 21-19 but a Sam Capwell kill and ace from freshman Aziz Atiyeh pushed King's lead back out to four. EU once again rallied to pull to within one at 24-23, but Danny Harpersberger polished off the set with a kill to clinch the set advantage for the Monarchs. 

It looked like more of the same in the second set, as King's led by as many as five in the opening part of the stanza, taking an 8-3 edge after an attacking error by Foster Lobb of Eastern. The host Eagles would put together a run of their own, turning a 10-5 deficit into a 13-11 lead thanks to four aces during the stretch. 

The Monarchs wouldn't go lightly, regaining a three-point lead at 18-15 after a termination from freshman Joe Joe Herman. King's would continue to lead until a 5-1 run from the hosts saw Eastern take the lead at 22-21. After a service error made it 22-all, EU scored the last three points to deadlock the match at a set apiece. 

The entertaining third set saw nine lead changes and 13 tie scores as neither team wanted to budge an inch. With the score tied at 22 and Eastern serving, King's got two big plays, with a Herman block preceding a huge double-block by Harpersberger and Liam Martinchek. Two points later, Herman came through with another kill to put the Monarchs back up a set at 2-1. 

In the fourth, Eastern led for the majority of the stanza though King's stayed within hunting distance for much of the period. King's three times over the last 15 points pulled to within one at 19-18, 20-19 and 22-21 but couldn't pull even as Lobb posted a kill at 24-22 to send the game to the fifth set. 

In the final frame, Eastern took an early 3-0 lead but the Monarchs came right back to earn six of the next seven points while charging ahead at 6-4. EU tied the game at 6-6, but Matt Piontkowski responded with a kill to put King's back ahead at 7-6. That would be the last time the Monarchs would lead, as Eastern tallied the next six points to pull away for the win. 

Herman finished tied for the team lead with 16 kills, needing 39 attempts while hitting .282 on the night and posting 10 digs, while Piontkowski also finished with 16 terminations, hitting .448 on 29 attacks. Capwell added 14 kills and five total rejections, and Harpersberger posted four kills and four blocks as well.

Setter George Beck dished out 43 assists on the match, also registering eight digs, and Joe Jones Jr. finished with seven digs and two aces. Libero Kyle Duggan also had eight digs for King's, which hit .264 (55-23-121) for the night. 

Lobb finished with a match-high 23 kills for Eastern, while Darren Lopez also added 17 in the win. 

The Monarchs return to non-conference play this Saturday, February 8 in Langhorne, PA, taking on York College (NY) and host Cairn University in a tri-match at Mason Activity Center, starting at noon.