WILKES-BARRE, PA (March 25, 2023) -- It was a historic day in McGrane Gymnasium as the King's College men's volleyball team swept Wilkes University and Hood College, defeating the Colonels 3-2 in a comeback win before dominating the Blazers 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play. With the wins, the Monarchs improve to 19-5 overall and 2-3 in the MAC standings while setting a new single-season wins record. The Colonels stand at 16-10 and 2-6 with the split, while the Blazers fall to 2-17 and 0-6 in the conference.
 
vs. Wilkes – W, 3-2 (23-25, 23-25, 25-12, 25-20, 15-11):
It was a true rivalry match up to start the MAC tri-match on Saturday afternoon as the teams battled from wire to wire. With the opening set tied at 6-6, Wilkes (16-10, 2-6 MAC) on a 9-2 rally to take a 15-8 lead over the Monarchs. Despite King's (19-5, 2-3 MAC) battling back to tie the set at 23 behind two kills from Joe Herman, the Colonels posted the final two points of the set to win the opener, 25-23.
 
Wilkes carried the momentum into the second set, but the Monarchs hung tough as they tied the set at 18-18 off a kill from Sam Capwell. The Colonels would outscore King's 7-5 down the stretch to win the second, 25-23, and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Monarchs came out on a mission in the third, storming out to an early 16-5 advantage and never looked back as they took set three, 25-12, from the Colonels to close within one, 2-1, for the match.
 
The fourth brought back a similar pace as the first two sets as neither team was able to string together a lengthy rally. Wilkes broke through this back-and-forth bout as they scored five straight to take a 17-16 lead late in the set. King's would respond, using three kills from Jared Piontkowski to end the set with a 25-20 victory that tied the match, 2-2, to force the deciding fifth set.
 
While the Colonels put the first tow point on the board, it would be the Monarchs to regain control throughout the fifth to go ahead, 5-4. Wilkes put up a fight as they scored three consecutive points, taking a 7-5 lead, and after trading possessions around the switch, King's found their groove as they rattled off eight points to just two from Wilkes to win the fifth, 15-11, and the match, 3-2, in comeback fashion.
 
The Monarchs were led offensively by Piontkowski who totaled 21 kills on 35 attempts with just two errors, hitting .543, with 15 digs, four blocks, and two aces. Herman tallied 16 kills with nine digs, while Owen McFadden posted seven kills with a team-high nine blocks. Both George Beck and Ben Maskiell dished out 26 assists, with Beck adding six digs to Maskiell's four. Defensively, Aziz Atiyeh posted 14 digs to help lead the back row, while Sam Capwell produced seven blocks and Peter Scholl added six.
 
Wilkes saw Noah Taylor total a match-best 24 kills with 13 digs, while Jackson Shafer posted 14 kills and 12 digs. Zach Shay tallied a match-best 52 assists as well for the Colonels.
 
Inside the box score, King's held the edge in almost every category, hitting .289 for the match while holding Wilkes to a .115 hitting percentage. The Monarchs defense forced 36 attack errors from the Colonels, while edging out Wilkes in kills (58-54), blocks (17-8), and assists (55-53).

vs. Hood – W, 3-0 (25-8, 25-8, 25-12):
The night cap saw King's dominate from start to finish. The Monarchs stormed out of the gates to lead 24-5 before cruising to the 25-8 win in set one. After giving up the first point of set two, King's ran away with the second to defeat Hood (2-17, 0-6 MAC) 25-8 in the set. The Blazers found a bit of a spark in the final set of the day, leading 3-1, but King's would go on a 16-4 run that would allow them to secure the 25-12 win in set three and the 3-0 win for the match. Maskiell finished with 13 assists and three aces, while Beck recorded 12 assists.
 
It was a balanced team effort in the win, with Piontkowski leading the way with six kills, while Herman added five on eight attempts with no errors to hit .625 with four digs and four aces. Capwell totaled four kills on seven attempts with no errors, hitting .571, while Scholl, McFadden, and Gavin Gilhool all tallied three kills a piece. Defensively, Atiyeh and Alvin Abraham posted three digs, while Mike Bizzoco added a pair.
 
Hood was led by Marc Fitzkee and Brendan Stutz with three kills each, while Will Javier Rojas tallied a team-best four digs.
 
King's dominated defensively, holding Hood to a -.204 hitting percentage with 21 attack errors, while edging out the Blazers in digs (20-13) and blocks (6-2). Offensively, the Monarchs recorded a .426 hitting percentage with just eight attack errors as they outpaced the Blazers in kills (31-10), aces (14-2), and assists (29-9).
 
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The Monarchs will have the week off before they make the short trip up the mountain to take on Misericordia University and Widener University on Saturday, April 1 in Dallas, Pa. Action is set to begin at noon.