WILKES-BARRE, PA (January 23, 2022) -- An impressive offensive performance that saw the King's College men's volleyball team hit .471 for the match coupled with a defensive effort that limited the visiting Drew University to a -.057 hitting percentage was the recipe for success in Sunday's 3-0 non-conference win. The Monarchs remain unbeaten as they improved to 5-0 for the season, while the Rangers dropped to 0-3 in their inaugural season.

Drew (0-3) started this matchup strong as they led, 7-6, in the opening set before King's (5-0) used a 10-2 rally to build a 16-9 advantage. The two young programs traded points before consecutive kills from junior Sam Capwell and sophomore Jared Piontkowski put the first set away with a 25-17 win. The Monarchs carried their momentum into the second set as they posted an early 7-2 advantage. The Rangers battled to within three, 17-14, but five Drew errors down the stretch proved costly as King's secured the second set, 25-17, to lead the match, 2-0. Drew appeared to run out of steam as the hosts stormed out to a 12-2 lead and never looked back before winning the final set, 25-11, and the match, 3-0.

Jared Piontkowski led the offensive efforts with 12 kills on 20 attempts, hitting .450, with five digs, three blocks, and an ace. Senior Matt Piontkowski also recorded double-digit kills with 10 tallies on 15 attempts with just one error for a .600 hitting percentage, while Capwell put together an equally impressive stat line with seven kills on nine chances with no errors to hit .778 with a team-high four blocks.

Defensively, junior Aziz Atiyeh recorded a team-best eight digs, while junior George Beck dished out 33 assists with seven digs, two blocks, and two kills.

Jacob Sledz led the Rangers with nine kills, adding five digs and a block, while Omarf Ortega-Reyes posted an all-around effort with a team-high seven digs, five kills, two aces, and a block. Huriel Perez dished out all 20 assists for Drew in the loss.

As a team, the Monarchs connected for 38 kills on 68 tries with just six team errors while the Rangers recorded 21 kills. King's led inside the stat sheet in points (46-28), blocks (6-2), assists (37-20), and digs (37-22).

The Monarchs will take a well-deserved break and return to play next Sunday, January 30 as they travel to Mount Aloysius for a tri-match with the hosts and Penn State Altoona starting at 12:30 p.m.