Wilkes-Barre, PA (January 20, 2024) -- The King's College men's volleyball team went 2-0 on the weekend as they hosted the Lightning of Lehman and the Knights of Neumann. The Monarchs went 3-0 in their first home match in McGrane Gymnasium against Lehmann. In their second battle of the afternoon, the squad also went 3-0 over Neumann.
 
vs. Lehmann – W, 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-17)
The first set was a battle as there were 14 different times the match was tied. Every time King's looked to get ahead, Lehman was right there with an answer. With back-to-back kills by Nick Greenawalt (Sr.) and Greg Bousquet (So.), Monarchs took the first set 25-23.

King's came out strong for the second set with a 16-6 run that included kills by Bousquet, Logan Dougherty (Fy.), Rich Alvarez (Jr.), and Greenawalt. The Lightning answered back with a 2-0 push, but the Monarchs controlled the rest of the matchup. King's won 25-11.

The third and final set of the match was much like the first as each team was trying to make a breakaway for a lead. The score was tied up at 10-10 when the Monarchs made a 13-5 jolt that comprised of an ace by David Hernandez (Jr.) and multiple kills by Greenawalt, Dougherty, and Bousquet to make it 23-15. Lehman made one last push with a kill by Alain Abreau Estava before King's celebrated a 25-17 win.

The Monarchs finished with 43 kills, 42 assists, nine aces, six blocks, 29 digs, and a hitting percentage of .117. Greenawalt finished with a team high of 14 kills and nine digs. Bousquet followed with his own 10 kills and three blocks and Dougherty added nine kills to the stat sheet. Ben Maskiell (So.) had 37 out of the team's 42 assists.

The Lightning ended with 25 kills, 25 assists, 29 digs, and a hitting percentage of .117. Ray Rodriguez and Abreau Esteva had seven kills each. Christian Agudo had 24 helpers. Andrew Figueroa aided his team with five kills and eight digs.
 
vs. Neumann – W, 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-13)
In the first set of second match of the afternoon, King's took an early 10-5 lead with the help of kills by Ben Maskiell (So.), Greg Bousquet (So.), and Logan Dougherty (Fy.). After a timeout by Neumann, the Knights got back on the board with a kill by Isaiah Raye-Ryan. Though the Monarchs took a steady pace. Neumann would try to make a break for it, but King's would answer back with two. The score was 20-11 when the matchup became a nailbiter as the first set went point-for-point. The Monarchs outlasted the Knights and won 25-18.

King's controlled much of the second set as they were able to maintain a three-point lead. The score was 14-11 when the Monarchs made an 11-5 push that included kills by Rich Lavarez (Jr.), Logan Dougherty (Fy.), Nick Greenawalt (Sr.), and Gavin Gilhool (Jr.). King's remained victorious with a 25-16 win.

In the third and final set of the afternoon, the Monarchs maintained their momentum with 17-8 jolt that comprised of an ace by Derek Perkins (Fy.) and kills by Greenawalt, Gilhool, Dougherty, Ben Maskiell (So.), and Bousquet. Neumann made a 4-2 run to make it 19-12. After a timeout by the Knights, Monarchs were back in control and replied back with another 6-1 push. After two straight aces by Maskiell, King's celebrated a 25-13 win to end the afternoon.

The Monarchs finished with 35 kills, 33 assists, six aces, 29 digs, and a hitting percentage of .347. Dougherty led the squad with 15 kills and six digs. Greenawalt and Bousquet both had five kills. Maskiell had 30 of the team's 33 assists.

The Knights finished with 30 kills, 28 assists, 26 digs, and .084 hitting percentage. Veryl Burns and Victor John had five kills. Brandon Baskerville had a high of nine digs.  Dan Barckholtz ended with 24 of his team's 28 assists.

King's will be back in McGrane Gymnaisium on Saturday, January 27^th starting at 12 p.m. to take on Mount Aloysius and Bryn Athyn.