WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 14, 2021) -- A balanced effort led the King's College Monarchs women's volleyball team to a win in their Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) opener on Tuesday night. The Monarchs (7-0, 1-0 MAC Freedom) handled the visiting Delaware Valley University Aggies, 3-0, in front of their home crowd in McGrane Gymnasium.

King's led Delaware Valley (2-3, 0-2 MAC Freedom) 5-3 early before opening the scoring with a 10-2 run to lead, 15-5. The Aggies would rally to pull within two, 18-16, down the stretch, but three kills from senior Danielle Kitchner and kills from senior Christie Brown and sophomore Emily Scott put the set away, 25-19.

The Monarchs stormed out to a 7-0 lead in the second set fueled by five kills from senior Olivia Bunch. King's led by 10 again, 15-5, before the Aggies recorded eight unanswered points to inch within two, 15-13. The hosts outscored Delaware Valley, 10-7, down the final stretch of the set and earned a service ace from Kitchner to take set two, 25-20, and lead the match, 2-0.

Delaware Valley saw some life to start the final set of the night, leading 5-3, but a quick 15-4 run from the Monarchs that saw six different players record a point allowed King's to control the set, 18-9. The Aggies had one more push, closing the deficit to within four, 22-18, but a kill from senior Wiatt Hoffmann and two Aggies errors allowed King's to claim the final set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0.

It was another senior-led night for the Monarchs behind Bunch's 13 kills, hitting .323, with seven digs. Kitchner continued to provide a solid performance with 10 kills, hitting .389, with two aces and a solo block. Cleo Schultz did it all tonight, posting seven kills with three total blocks at the net. Hoffmann dished out 28 assists, while adding three aces and eight digs. The defense was led again by Karissa Hartzell with 13, while Toni Galasso and first year Carly Shire added nine each.

The Aggies were led by Grace Kane with 12 kills, while Caitlin Nemil handed out 29 helpers. Emma Helverson and Gretta Schneider paced the defense with 13 digs a piece, and Helverson added two aces.

As a team, the Monarchs hit .205 compared to the Aggies .159 for the match. They also led every statistical category in the match, including points (56-39), kills (42-33), aces (10-4), blocks (4-2), assists (37-32), and digs (57-55).

King's is back in action at home on Friday, September 17 as they kick off homecoming weekend with a match against Keystone College set for 5:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.