CRESSON, PA (January 30, 2022) -- The King's College men's volleyball team posted a tri-match split on Sunday afternoon as they suffered their first loss of the 2022 season, 3-1, to Penn State Altoona in the opener before defeating the host Mount Aloysius College, 3-0, in the night cap. The Monarchs now improve to 6-1 to finish their January match ups.

Game 1 vs. Penn State Altoona - L, 1-3 (25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 23-25):
The opening game was a battle from the start before King's (6-1), led, 13-9. A 19-14 Monarchs led after a kill from junior Joe Herman was strong enough to hold off any last chance efforts from the Nittany Lions as King's won the opening set, 25-19. The second set saw the teams tied at six after an ace from sophomore Jared Piontkowski, but Penn State Altoona (1-2) used a 6-2 run to build a lead. The Monarchs battled back to trail 20-17 before opening a 6-2 rally to lead, 23-22, but three straight points by the Nittany Lions secured the foes a 25-23 win in the set to tie the match, 1-1.

King's seemed to come into the third set with momentum, posting an early 16-12 lead, but eight unanswered points by the Nittany Lions separated the score as Penn State Altoona captured the third set, 25-20, to lead the game, 2-1. The final set was fittingly a battle with the Monarchs trailing, 16-13, before going on a 4-0 run to take the 17-16 lead. The two teams traded runs down the stretch, but the Nittany Lions had the upper hand as they secured the fourth set win, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.

Jared Piontkowski led the Monarchs offense with 15 kills, adding eight blocks, six digs, and two aces. Herman totaled eight kills with five digs, while senior Matt Piontkowski added six kills and three blocks. Junior George Beck dished out 28 of the Monarchs 30 assists, and junior Sam Capwell and sophomore Peter Scholl each contributed four blocks. Additionally, junior Aziz Atiyeh led the back row with 10 digs.

Penn State Altoona saw three with double-digit kills led by Jared Kish with 15 on 23 attempts, hitting .522, with three blocks, while Jeremy Winter led the defense with 10 digs. Connor Blaker also handed out 46 assists in the win.

The Monarchs defense remained strong as they held the Nittany Lions to a .133 hitting percentage but faced some offensive struggles as they hit .156 for the match. Inside the box score, King's held the advantage in team blocks (12-6).

Game 2 vs. Mount Aloysius - W, 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-21):
The Monarchs found a rhythm to start the second match of the day as they easily handed the host Mounties, 25-13, in the opening set behind an impressive .500 hitting percentage. It seemed as the second set would find a similar fate for Mount Aloysius (2-3) as King's led, 5-1, but the hosts found some momentum in the second to tie the set at six. The Monarchs had an answer with each comeback effort by the Mounties as they secure the set two win, 25-18. The final set looked much like the first two with King's stormed out to an 8-2 advantage, but Mount Aloysius closed within one, 8-7, with five straight points. The Monarchs responded and it appeared as the visitors would cruise through the final set with a 20-11 lead, but the Mounties played to their home crowd and chipped away at the deficit to trail, 24-21, before a Mounties error ended the match with King's winning the final set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.

Sophomore Nick Greenawalt paced the Monarchs in game two with seven kills on 13 attempts with just one error, hitting .462, with two blocks. Jared Piontkowski totaled six kills with two blocks, while first year Rich Alvarez totaled five kills on eight attempts to hit .500. Beck recorded 18 assists and partnered with Atiyeh as both posted a team-high eight digs. Additionally, Scholl was solid at the net again with another four blocks in the second matchup of the day, while Capwell was extremely efficient, connecting for four kills on five attempts with no errors to hit .800.

Mount Aloysius was led by Andrew Wlodarczyk and Tayshaun Johnson with seven kills each, while John Ayala totaled a team-best six digs.

King's kept on track defensively, holding the Mounties to a -.012 hitting percentage (21-86). The Monarchs won inside the stat sheet in kills (31-21), blocks (5-1), assists (20-19), and digs (34-25).

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The Monarchs are back in action as they kick off their February contests on Sunday, February 6 as they host SUNY Potsdam in a doubleheader in McGrane Gymnasium. The matches are set to begin at noon in front of the home crowd.