MADISON, NJ (February 18, 2023) -- In two battles from start to finish, the King's College men's volleyball team remained unbeaten in 2023 as they defeated New Jersey City University, 3-2, in a comeback win in the opening match before handing the host Drew a tightly contested 3-0 loss in the night cap. The Monarchs improve to 15-0, the Gothic Knights drop to 6-4, and the Rangers stand at 6-6.
 
vs. New Jersey City University – W, 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-12):
King's (15-0) started the match strong as they opened with a quick 13-7 run that would see the Monarchs take the opening set, 25-14. New Jersey City (6-4) would find their rhythm in the second as they overcame an early 3-1 lead from King's to open the scoring with six unanswered points. The Monarchs would battle back to tie the sett at 17 a piece thanks to a service ace from senior George Beck, but the Gothic Knights held off the comeback effort to hand King's the 25-22 loss in set two.
 
The third set was a battle that saw the Monarchs trailing, 17-15, midway through the set, but New Jersey City went on a 4-0 spurt that proved to be the difference as King's fell, 25-20, and went down 2-1 in the match. With their perfect record on the line, the Monarchs rallied in the fourth set, using an early 13-8 advantage and strong team play to defeat the Gothic Knights, 25-18, and force the deciding fifth set.
 
Neither team led by more than two points, but with King's trailing, 9-8, the Monarchs gained the momentum with a 4-0 run behind two kills from junior Nick Greenawalt to go ahead, 12-9, and cruise to the 15-12 win in the fifth and the 3-2 win in the match.
 
Senior Joe Herman posted 14 kills on 32 attempts, hitting .344, with seven digs, two blocks, and an ace, while junior Jared Piontkowski matched his 14-kill effort while adding a team-high 11 digs to go with six blocks and two aces. Greenawalt rounded out the top offensive performances with 12 kills on 22 attempts, hitting .455, while first year Ben Maskiell tallied 29 assists with seven digs. Beck also had a strong game with 21 assists, adding four digs, while senior Aziz Atiyeh posted nine digs. Additionally, first year Owen McFadden recorded 11 blocks, senior Sam Capwell added eight, and first year Greg Bousquet rounded out a strong blocking effort with seven of his own.
 
James Bajor led New Jersey City with 19 kills, while Nico Figueroa tallied a match-high 13 digs. Leo Ferrari also posted an impressive performance with 44 assists.
 
As a team, the Monarchs hit .300 for the match, tallying 54 kills on 130 attempts, while the defense limited the Gothic Knights to a .100 hitting percentage with 35 attack errors. Inside the stat sheet, King's held the edge in kills (54-50), blocks (19-4), and assists (53-48).
 
vs. Drew University – W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22):
Their final match of the day was also a battle from start to finish as the host Drew took advantage of a match break to fight it out with the Monarchs.
 
Drew (6-6) led early, 5-2, but the battle-tested Monarchs went on a 4-0 run to take the 6-5 lead. After two quick points from the Rangers, King's used another momentum swing to rattle off five straight points. Despite a late surge from Drew that saw the hosts tie the set at 21, King's secured the opening set thanks to four unanswered points, fueled by two service aces from Maskiell, on their way to the 25-21 win in the opening set.
 
The Rangers held the early advantage again, leading King's 14-10, but the Monarchs would quickly tie the set at 14 a piece. With the Rangers ahead, 19-17, King's outscored Drew 8-3 down the stretch to earn the 25-22 win in the second and take the 2-0 lead for the match.
 
The final set was no different as the Rangers jumped ahead early, 11-10, but King's surged for nine straight points in the set that would prove to be the difference as the Monarchs held off a late spurt from Drew to win set three, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.
 
Piontkowski was the lone Monarch with double-digit kills as he totaled 12 on 25 attacks, hitting .400, with his second double-double of the day as he added a team-best 10 digs, while Herman added nine kills and eight digs. Capwell was strong at the net again with nine blocks, while Bousquet added six. Maskiell handed out 15 assists with three aces, while Beck added 12 with six digs.
 
Drew was led by Ephraim Smith with a match-high 18 kills, while Bryan Do led the defensive effort with nine digs.
 
The Monarchs attack efforts were strong again as King's posted a .325 hitting percentage for the match with just eight attack errors. Drew was limited to a .142 hitting percentage with 21 errors. The stat sheet saw King's hold the edge in blocks (12-6) and digs (36-34).
 
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The Monarchs will return home to McGrane Gymnasium after their lengthy road stretch as they host a non-conference tri-match with Yeshiva University and Immaculata University on Sunday, February 26 with action set to begin at 12:00 p.m.