WILKES-BARRE, PA (SEPTEMBER 23, 2023) -- It was a block party in McGrane Gymnasium with a total of 14 blocks as the King's College women's volleyball team went 2-0 this Saturday afternoon against the Giants of Keystone College and the Knights of Mount Saint Mary. The Monarchs swept both opponents 3-0 and added to their non-conference home win streak to 35 victories. 

vs. Keystone – W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-11):
King's had a great start in the opening set with a 17-9 run that included kills by Emily Scott (Sr.), Theresa Lynch (So.), Joy Kindall (So.), and Kathy Shepherd (So.). Keystone continued to pester the Monarchs trying to gain some sort of momentum, but King's prevailed and took the first set 25-14. 

The Monarchs began with a 5-1 spurt in the second set. The Giants battled back and had four unanswered points to tie the matchup 5-5. From then on every time King's made a push Keystone would answer back with their own. The score was 19-17 when the Monarchs finally shook off the Giants and made a 6-3 break. King's won the set 25-20. 

In the third and final set, the Monarch's emerged with a 10-5 lead that comprised of four consecutive points by Morgan Williams (So.), Lindsay Arezina (Fy.), and Kindall. King's controlled most the affair and did not give in to the Giants. With a final kill by Bella Salvia (So.), the Monarchs became victorious with a score of 25-11. 

King's ended with 29 kills, 28 sets, eight aces, five blocks, 39 digs, and a hitting percentage of 0.256. Kindall accumulated nine kills and four blocks. Lynch followed with six kills and Shepherd had five. Keely Hoban (Jr.) aided the squad with 26 assists. Williams ended with 12 digs and four aces. Adriana Conforti (Jr.) recorded eight digs to help with the strong defensive effort.

Keystone's  Rebecca Jackson and Kameryn Cortinas sparked the offense with seven kills each. Tobi West dished out 15 assists. Hailey Herneisey fueled the defense with 11 digs. 

vs. Mount Saint Mary– W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-14):
Mount Saint Mary took the lead early with a score of 11-3. King's made a triumphant 13-5 leap to tie the game 16-16. This leap was made possible with the help of numerous kills by Lindsay Arezina (Fy.), Bella Salvia (So.), Joy Kindall, and Emma Bolich (Fy.). Soon after it was a point-for-point showdown with both teams trying to distance themselves. It was 20-21 when the Monarchs had five straight kills by Emma Monson (Jr.), Kathy Shepherd (So.), and Kindall. King's won 25-21. 

In the second set, the Monarchs came out strong with a 6-1 cushion. The Knights annoyed King's with their own eight point streak and took over the match by one. Mount Saint Mary was in control with 8-7 on the scoreboard, but the Monarchs were not going to go down without a fight and answered back with a 17-9 push to the finish line. This spurt by Kings had the collective involvement of Arezina, Monson, Salvia, Kindall, Keely Hoban (Jr.), and Emma King (Fy.). The Monarchs ended the second set 25-17. 

In the third and final set of the afternoon, the two adversaries went to battle. King's were in command for the majority of the contest and added five blocks to the stat sheet. With a final block by Hoban and Kindall, the Monarchs bested the Knights 25-14.

King's finished with 35 kills, 32 assists, seven aces, nine blocks, 51 digs, and a hitting percentage of 0.230. Kindall ended with nine kills and five blocks. Salvia had her own eight kills and three blocks. Hoban dished out 29 assists for the Monarchs. Morgan Williams (So.) had a defensive presence of 16 digs. 

The Knights' Mary Milano had eight kills and Erin Lema followed with her own seven. Aubriana Boyce handed out 15 assists and Vanessa Mleczko had 13 digs. 

The Monarchs are back home on Tuesday, September 26^th at 7 p.m. to have their first home Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom matchup against Lebanon Valley. The women's volleyball team will the travel to Phoenixville, PA to take on Valley Forge at 7 p.m. on Thursday, September 28^th.