WILKES-BARRE, PA (SEPTEMBER 1, 2023) -- It was an eventful Friday night for the King's College Women's Volleyball team in their first game of the season. The Monarchs defeated the Wildcats of Penn College 3-1 in McGrane Gymnasium.
 
In the first set, both teams kept it close right out of the gate. Penn College (0-1) was not going to make it a fair fight, but the Monarchs kept pestering the Wildcats by adding many kills to the stat sheet. Emily Scott (Sr.) added three kills of her own. Theresa Lynch (So.) came into the end and had three kills in a row, with Bella Salvia (So.) making the last kill of her three in the set. The first set ended in King's (1-0) favor 26-24.  
 
The start of the second set was unlike the first, and the Monarchs were able to make a 13-4 burst. With two kills by Joy Kindall (So.), one kill by Emma Bolich (Fy.) and one by Salvia, King's was feeling good. Penn College came roaring back and made their own 9-3 streak, making the match 16-12. The Monarchs finally regained control with the help of two consecutive kills by Scott pushing the score 18-12. King's took the set by having three straight kills, two from Kindall and ending the match by another kill by Salvia. Monarchs won set two 25-17.
 
In the third set, King's made a small 3-1 run. Yet, the Wildcats came back with vengeance answering back to every point the Monarchs made. King's battled throughout the set, trying to find a way to take over Penn College. The score was 16-23 when the Monarchs retaliated back with an 8-1 push before the Wildcats made their final kill of the set by Cheyenne Stein (Sr.). Penn College took the third set 24-26.
 
In the fourth and final set of the night, King's came back strong and made an 13-5 run, making the score 17-9. Penn College tried making their final efforts in shortening the deficit by making an 8-4 spurt. The Monarchs finally pulled away with five unanswered points, including two aces by Kindall. King's won 25-17.
 
King's ended the series with 50 Kills, 47 assists, 11 aces, 53 digs, and a hitting percentage of .174. Kindall led the team in kills with 12, had three aces, and two blocks. Salvia had her own 10 kills with Scott following with nine. Morgan Williams had a team high of 16 digs  and Devan Moses (So.) added her own 10. Keely Hoban (Jr.) fueled the team with 21 assists.
 
The Wildcats' Marianna Dariychuck (So.) carried the team in kills with 13 and had 13 digs. Coryn Oswald (Sr.) followed with 11 kills of her own. Anna Reed (Fy.) had a defensive spark with 19 digs and Maggie Mangene (Sr.) had 12.
 
King's Women's Volleyball will travel to Penn State Hazleton on Thursday, September 7^th at 6 p.m. The Monarchs will return to action in McGrane Gymnasium for a tri-match on Saturday, September 9^th against SUNY Cobleskill and Wilson College starting at 12 p.m.