WILKES-BARRE, PA (October 7, 2023) -- The defensive trio of Morgan Williams, Devan Moses, and Bella Salvia all totaled double-digit digs as the King's College women's volleyball team fell, 3-1, in a four-set thriller at Franciscan University on Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Monarchs drop to 10-7 overall, while the Barons improve to 9-8.
 
King's (10-7) hung tight with Franciscan (9-8) early in the first set, but trailing 12-7 the Barons rattled off eight unanswered points to go ahead, 20-7. Franciscan did not look back on their way to a 25-13 win in the opening set.
 
The Monarchs found their stride in the second, taking an early 7-4 advantage fueled by two kills each from Joy Kindall and Salvia. The set then featured 10 ties and five lead changes with Franciscan using a late four-point swing to lead, 22-19. Two more kills from Salvia and a kill from Kathy Shepherd helped rally the Monarchs en route to a 25-23 set win to tie the match, 1-1.
 
The host Barons regained momentum in the third, using a quick 14-5 start to the set. Despite late efforts from Salvia and Kindall to keep the set alive for the Monarchs, Franciscan claimed the third, 25-15, and jumped ahead 2-1 in the match.
 
King's made a strong push to begin the fourth behind a pair of kills from Emily Scott and an ace from Williams, holding an 8-4 advantage, but Franciscan would not go away as they used an 8-0 rally to pull ahead, 12-8. The Monarchs climbed within one, trading points and outlasting a late surge from the Barons to close within 23-22, but Franciscan had the final say, scoring the final two points to take the fourth, 25-22, and the match, 3-1.
 
Kindall paced the Monarchs offense with 10 kills on 23 attempts with no errors, hitting .435 for the match, with four digs and a block, while Salvia had a balanced effort of eight kills, 13 digs, and two assists. Offensively, both Emma Monson and Mia Campanile put up four kills each, while Keely Hoban lent out 31 helpers with six digs. Defensively, Williams remained strong with a match-high 20 digs, while Moses recorded 16 in the loss.
 
Franciscan was led by Mary Jean Cadman with 15 kills on 44 attempts with five digs, four blocks, and three aces, while Sara Moore led the defense with 19 digs. Additionally, Grace Wallace dished out 34 assists, and Gabrielle Disselkamp totaled 10 aces.
 
As a team, the Monarchs posted 35 kills off 34 assists while holding a commanding 72-59 edge over the Barons in the dig column. King's defense also limited Franciscan to a .128 hitting percentage for the match.
 
King's will return to McGrane Gymnasium on Tuesday, October 10 as they return to Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) play. The Monarchs play host to Delaware Valley at 7:00 p.m.