BROOKLYN, NY (February 18, 2024) -- The King's College men's volleyball team had yet another weekend sweep to add to the win column. The Monarchs (11-0) defeated Mount Saint Vincent (1-2) 3-0 and dropped Pratt Institute (2-6) 3-0 in the Pratt Activity Resource Center on Sunday afternoon.
 
vs. Mount Saint Vincent – W, 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-14)
In the first set of the afternoon, King's took a 9-2 lead with tallies by Ben Maskiell (So.), Greg Bousquet (So.), and Gavin Gilhool (Jr.) before Mount Saint Vincent called a timeout. The set went point-for-point through nine rallies when the Monarchs took a timeout with the score being 13-7. The timeout was successful as King's went on a 12-3 run that included kills by Gilhool, Bousquet, Rich Alvarez (Jr.), and Logan Dougherty (Fy.). The Monarchs won 25-10 in the opening set.
 
The second set was a battle as Mount Saint Vincent stayed within two throughout the match while tying the score four different times. The score was 12-10 when King's created a 5-1 jolt thanks to kills by Bousquet and Dougherty. The Dolphins answered back with back-to-back kills by Kevin Erhand. Every time the Monarchs looked to push to the finish line, Mount Saint Vincent would delay them by putting more tallies on the scoreboard. After a final kill by Gilhool, King's took a 25-17 win.
 
The third and final set was much like the second with three ties early on. The score was 8-7 when the Monarchs made a break for it with a 6-2 push that involved kills by Alvarez and Bousquet to force the Dolphins into calling a timeout. King's were able to maintain the edge with another 11-5 run that comprised of points made by Bousquet, Dougherty, Maskiell, Alvarez, and Gilhool to stand victorious with a score of 25-14.
 
The Monarchs finished with 35 kills on 34 assists, eight aces, seven blocks, 32 digs, and a hitting percentage of .389. Bousquet pushed the squad with 11 kills, five blocks, and five digs with a hitting percentage of .529. Dougherty followed with eight kills and six digs. Gilhool also added five blocks, five digs, and six kills to the stat sheet. Maskiell had a team high of 31 assists and five aces. Mike Bizzoco (Sr.) led the defense with eight digs.
 
The Dolphins ended with 22 kills, 22 assists, 25 digs, and a hitting percentage of .013. Kevin Erhand had nine kills and three digs. Matthew Barranacos dished out 18 helpers with six digs. Felix Paulino pushed the defense with 11 digs.
 
vs. Pratt Institute – W, 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-16)
King's held on to the lead of the opening set by only allowing their hosts to get with two. The score was 6-4 when the Monarchs had back-to-back kills by Logan Dougherty (Fy.) before Pratt called a timeout. Following the timeout, the Cannoneers had their own 5-2 push to get within one. King's responded back with a 6-1 run than included points made by Aidan Kraus (Jr.), Greg Bousquet (So.), and Gavin Gilhool (Jr.) to force Pratt to take another timeout.  The match was neck-in-neck before King's scored three straight points. The Cannoneers would make one last kill before Gilhool made the final blow to win the first set 25-16 for the Monarchs.
 
King's maintained their momentum in the second set by having multiple members contribute to a 25-9 victory heading into the final set.
 
The third set was unlike the first two as there were six different times the score tied. Both adversaries were not allowing the other get more than a two-point lead before a timeout by Pratt was called. The score was 10-9 with the Monarch in control when the team put up five straight points that included kills by Rich Alvarez (Jr.), and Alex Martelacci (Fy.). Pratt was able to break up King's runs, but the Monarchs prevailed and stood victorious with a 25-16 win.
 
King's ended the afternoon with 36 kills, 33 assists, 10 aces, eight blocks, 30 digs, and a hitting percentage of .347. Dougherty led the offense with 13 kills and a hitting percentage of .857. Kraus produced a season-best of 21 assists. Nick Greenawalt (Sr.) added four aces and two digs. On the defensive end, Gilhool had five blocks and Bousquet tacked on six digs.
 
The Cannoneers had 24 kills on 24 assists, 25 digs, and a hitting percentage of .061. Max Wang tallied nine kills and six digs. Joji Kawamura also had nine kills and Brooks Reid had 21 assists. Jude Fox created nine digs to lead the defense.
 
The Monarchs are back on the road to faceoff Eastern for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) battle at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 22^nd. The squad will be back in McGrane Gymnasium on Sunday, February 25^th at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. for a tri-match against Yeshiva and Saint Elizabeth.