Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 LANCASTER, PA (March 4, 2023) -- In a competitive non-conference tri-match featuring two strong opponents, the King's College men's volleyball team suffered their first losses of the 2023 season by scores of 3-0 to #11 Southern Virginia University and the host Lancaster Bible College on Saturday afternoon. With the losses in the Horst Athletic Center, the Monarchs fall to 17-2, while the Knights improve to 9-2, and the host Chargers stand at 10-7.
 
vs. #11 Southern Virginia – L, 0-3 (16-25, 16-25, 17-25):
In their first nationally ranked match up of the 2023 season, the Monarchs fought valiantly with #11 Southern Virginia (9-2). It was a closely contested opening set as King's (17-2) trailed by just two, 14-12, off a kill from Jared Piontkowski, but the Knights rattled off three straight points to start an 11-4 run to end set one, 25-16, over King's.
 
It was a similar story in the second set with the Monarchs facing a 12-11 deficit, but the nationally ranked Knights pulled away with an 8-0 run before handing the Monarchs the 25-16 loss in set two.
 
King's rallied in the third as they would not go down without a fight and held a 7-4 edge early. Southern Virginia would go toe-to-toe with the Monarchs before taking their first lead, 9-8. The Monarchs would keep the Knights within at least three points, but with Southern Virginia ahead, 16-13, the Knights put the set away thanks to a quick 3-0 spurt as the Monarchs fell, 25-17, in the set and 3-0 in the match.
 
Joe Herman finished with a team-leading 10 kills, adding four digs and an ace, while Piontkowski posted nine kills, four digs, two aces, and a block. Setter Ben Maskiell dished out 10 assists with three digs, while both Owen McFadden and Aziz Atiyeh rounded out the defensive effort with three digs each.
 
Southern Virginia was led by Christian Sheaffer with 12 kills, while setter Tyler Sheaffer recorded 39 assists with two blocks. The Knights defensive efforts saw Justin Madsen tally a game-high 13 digs.
 
As a team, King's totaled 21 kills off 20 assists with 21 digs, four aces, and 2.0 blocks.
 
vs. Lancaster Bible – L, 0-3 (20-25, 22-25, 20-25):
The opening set was a battle as King's battled back from a 10-5 deficit to tie the set at 12 apiece. Neither team could string together a rally and pull away in the first, but as King's trailed 21-19, the host Chargers closed the set on a 4-1 run to hand the Monarchs the 25-20 loss in set one.
 
Set two featured 13 ties and eight lead changes throughout the stanza, as King's built a 17-12 advantage. Lancaster Bible (10-7) climbed back to tie the set at 19 to down the Monarchs, 25-22, in the set and take the 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The final set of the day was no different as it featured 10 ties with the last stalemate coming at 13-13. The Chargers opened the scoring with three unanswered points, but King's would not go away easily as they pulled within one, 21-20. Despite their valiant efforts late in the match, the Monarchs would drop the third set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0, to the host Lancaster Bible.
 
Herman paced the Monarchs offensive efforts again with 12 kills on 25 attempts with just one error, hitting .440 for the match, with five digs, two aces, and a block. Atiyeh recorded a team-best nine digs, while McFadden added five kills and three blocks. Additionally, Maskiell handed out 13 helpers for King's.
 
The host Chargers saw Elijah Herb post 12 kills with five digs and three blocks, while Tanner Shertzer led with 10 digs. Lancaster Bible also got 35 assists from setter Christian Herr in the win.
 
As a team, the Monarchs recorded 23 kills off 22 assists while tallying 23 digs and three aces. King's also held the advantage in blocs, 6.0-3.0, over the Chargers.
 
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The Monarchs will enjoy a lengthy break before returning to action on Wednesday, March 15 as they host Messiah University in their Middle Atlantic Conference home opener at 7:00 p.m. in McGrane Gymnasium.