GLENSIDE, PA (November 1, 2021) -- Despite a valiant effort, the King's College women's volleyball team fell in straight sets, 3-0, to the host Arcadia University in the opening round of the MAC Freedom playoffs on Monday night. The fourth-seeded Knights will move on to face top-ranked DeSales University on Wednesday evening in the MAC Freedom semifinals. The Monarchs finish their season 22-5 overall, 4-4 in the MAC Freedom.

King's opened the game scoring the first two points on kills from the senior duo of Danielle Kitchner and Olivia Bunch, before going on a 7-2 run to take a commanding 9-2 lead. Arcadia (13-18, 5-3 MAC) tied the set at 11, but an 8-3 run from the Monarchs put them ahead, 19-14. The Knights pulled within one, 20-19, and both teams traded runs of three unanswered points before Arcadia recorded four of the final five points of the set to win, 26-24.

Arcadia led early in the second set, 17-9, before King's used a 10-4 run to close the deficit to within two, 21-19. After two Knights errors and a kill from senior Karissa Hartzell, the Monarchs trailed by just one, 23-22, but the Knights put the set away with the final two points, 25-22, to lead the game, 2-0.

After leading the final set, 5-2, the hosts rattled off seven unanswered points to take command of the set, 9-5. A 7-2 Arcadia run was too much for the Monarchs to overcome, trailing 17-7, before falling, 25-13, in the third set and 3-0 for the game.

Bunch led the Monarchs offense in her last game in the red and gold, totaling nine kills with 11 digs, two blocks, and an ace. Kitchner also finished her career with a solid effort with seven kills on 15 attempts, hitting .400, and a team-best three blocks. Senior Christie Brown rounded out the top attackers with six kills and two blocks.

Senior setter Wiatt Hoffmann capped off a historic career for King's, moving into third place all time with 2,391 assists, and totaling 24 tonight with nine digs. The defensive effort was led by Hartzell with a game-high 22 digs, first year Carly Shire recorded nine digs, and senior Toni Galasso added seven.

Danielle Doyle paced the Knights with 11 kills and four blocks, Estefania Martinez-Sola tallied 31 assists, and Grace Kraft added 17 digs.

As a team, the Monarchs totaled 29 kills off 28 assists, and they held the advantage over the Knights in digs, 63-55, for the game.