ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (January 19, 2023) -- Senior libero Aziz Atiyeh tied the program record for digs in a four-set match with 16 digs as he helped lead a balanced defensive effort on the King's College men's volleyball team's way to a 3-1 road win at Elizabethtown on Thursday night. The Monarchs remain unbeaten to start the season at 2-0, while the Blue Jays drop their season-opener and fall to 0-1.
 
It was a competitive start to this match up that would set the tone for the entire contest. Both teams recorded their best hitting percentage of the match in set one, as King's (2-0) hit .407 for the set with 14 kills and just three errors, while Elizabethtown (0-1) hit .310. Neither team could string together more than a two-point run, but with King's trailing, 15-14, the Monarchs tallied four unanswered points to pull ahead, 18-15. This proved the difference in the opening set as King's earned the exciting 25-22 win and the 1-0 lead to start the match.
 
The second set went to the hosts as the Blue Jays took advantage of some untimely Monarch errors to tie the match at one set each with a 25-18 win in set two.
 
After the break and with a chance to regroup, King's rallied back from an early 6-3 deficit in the third set as they strung together a 9-4 run to pull ahead, 12-10, capped off by a block from first year Owen McFadden. The next stretch of play featured four ties and two lead changes before recorded five unanswered points to hold a 20-15 advantage let in the stanza. The Monarchs would hold off a late comeback effort as they won the third set, 25-23, and increased their match lead to 2-1.
 
The final set was a true battle to the finish, and similar to the first set there were eight ties and four lead changes that would see King's ahead, 14-13. The Monarchs would outscored the Blue Jays 11-6 in the final moments of this gritty match up as they secured the fourth set, 25-19, and the match, 3-1, in their first road test of the 2023 season.
 
Junior Jared Piontkowski posted a team-high 14 kills while adding seven digs, while senior Sam Capwell totaled seven kills on 13 attempts with just one error, hitting .462, with two blocks. Senior Joe Herman matched that effort with seven tallies of his own, adding seven digs, while McFadden tacked on seven kills with five digs. First year Ben Maskiell dished out 17 helpers to go along with nine digs, and senior George Beck added 12 assists and five digs.
 
Steve Swain led all players with 17 kills and three aces, while Nate Seeger totaled a game-high 39 assists. Additionally, Dustin Hagin led the Blue Jays defense with 13 digs.
 
In an extremely competitive match up, King's hit .269 for the match, recording 43 kills on 30 assists. The defense held Elizabethtown to a .208 hitting percentage and forced 19 attack errors, and the Monarchs edged out the Blue Jays in digs (55-45) and blocks (3-2).
 
King's will return home on Saturday afternoon as they are set to host a non-conference tri-match in McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs will first take on Pratt Institute at 12:00 p.m. before facing Brooklyn College in the night cap.