DALLAS, PA (April 1, 2023) -- In a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) trimatch that saw battles from start to finish, the King's College men's volleyball team split its matches, first falling to the host Misericordia University, 3-0, in game one before defeating Widener University, 3-0, in the second game. With the split, the Monarchs secured their 20^th win of the season to improve to 20-6 and 4-4 in the MAC, the Pride drop to 12-13 and 1-7 in the conference with their loss to the Monarchs, and the Cougars stand at 13-21 with a 3-4 conference mark with the win over King's.
 
Game 1 – L, 0-3 (23-25, 22-25, 18-25):
The opening set featured a back-and-forth effort, but with the score tied at 9 a piece, King's (20-6, 4-4 MAC) went on a 5-1 run to jump ahead, 15-10. The teams would trade points again to see the Monarchs leading 22-20, but the host Misericordia (13-21, 3-4 MAC) outscored King's 5-1 in the final moments of the match to hand the Monarchs the 25-23 loss in set one.
 
The Cougars carried the momentum into the second, holding a 9-7 edge, but King's rattled off three straight points to take a 10-9 lead. The two traded three-point rallies, but with the Monarchs ahead 17-15, Misericordia was able to put together three consecutive points which proved to be the difference down the stretch as King's fell, 25-22, in the second set to trail, 2-0, in the match.
 
King's stormed out of the gate in the third to try and stage the comeback, using and early 6-3 edge to lead Misericordia. The Cougars would turn the tides with a 5-0 run to get back on top, 8-6. The Monarchs would pull within two, 17-15, on an ace from Owen McFadden, but Misericordia would not allow King's closer than that in the final moments of the match to win the third, 25-18, and the match, 3-0, over the Monarchs.
 
Joe Herman led the Monarchs with nine kills, while Jared Piontkowski added eight with six digs. McFadden posted five kills with five digs and three blocks, while Sam Capwell tallied six kills to round out the top offensive efforts. King's defense saw Ben Maskiell record six digs with 17 assists, while George Beck handed out nine helpers.
 
The Cougars were paced by Anthony DePalma with 18 kills, while Alex Furlong recorded a match-high 12 digs. Additionally, Gannon DeFrain tallied 37 assists, 10 digs, and three blocks.
 
King's hit .256 for the match with 33 kills on 30 assists, adding three aces, four blocks, and 25 digs as a team.
 
Game 2 – W, 3-0 (29-27, 25-23, 25-22):
It was a similar story in the second match of the day, but it was the Monarchs who would come out on top in game two of the tri-match. King's held the early 12-7 advantage, but Widener (12-13, 1-7 MAC) would close within two, 13-11. The Monarchs would then go on an 8-2 run and seem to run away with the set, but with the Pride trailing 24-17, they rattled off eight unanswered points to take a 25-24 lead. King's would have the upper hand as they used two kills from Piontkowski to outscore Widener, 5-2, down the stretch and secure the 29-27 win in the opening set.
 
Widener would find a rhythm to start set two, leading King's 11-10, but the Monarchs connected for seven straight points. The Pride would battle within one, 24-23, but a kill from McFadden shut the door on a Widener comeback as King's won set two, 25-23, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
With the score tied at 6-6 to start the third, the King's offense went off for a 7-2 run to lead, 13-8. The Pride came up with a burst of five points to tie the set again at 13. The two teams traded points before the Monarchs used a 6-0 run to come within one point of securing the win. Widener would not go away quietly as they closed within two, 24-22, but this time it was a kill from Nick Greenawalt that would secure the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0, for King's.
 
Piontkowski paced King's with 15 kills on 27 attempts, hitting .407 for the match, with 11 digs, while Herman added nine kills and eight digs. McFadden posted seven kills on 14 attempts with no errors to hit .500 with two blocks, while Greenawalt rounded out the top hitters with six kills and two blocks. Aziz Atiyeh led the defense with 16 digs, while Ben Maskiell tallied 22 assists.
 
Widener was led by Matthew Christ with nine kills and 10 digs, while Cole Nagle tallied 15 digs. Additionally, Josh Matchett posted 17 assists with nine digs for the Pride.
 
As a team, the Monarchs hit .228 for the match while holding the Pride to a .118 hitting percentage. King's held the edge in kills (40-31) and assist (38-28) while also adding four aces, four blocks, and 45 digs.
 
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King's will conclude its 2023 regular season schedule on Wednesday, April 5 as they travel to Glenside, Pa. to take on Arcadia University. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in the MAC match.