ST. DAVIDS, PA (February 22, 2024) -- The King's College men's volleyball team had a hard-fought clash with the Eagles of Eastern (6-7, 1-1) in their Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) game on Thursday night. The Monarchs fell to the Eagles 3-1 in The Nest, making the squad 11-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
 
It was a battle to start the first set of the match as it went back-and-forth seeing multiple ties. The score was 8-8 when Eastern took a 3-0 run for the lead. Though King's answered back with their own 4-1 jolt that included a kill by Greg Bousquet (So.). It was neck-in-neck for the remainder of the set as neither adversary was going to allow the other to score more than two. After a kill by Nick Greenawalt (Sr.) to make the score 23-21, the Eagles went on to tally three straight kills by Rodney Quarles and Max Bagileo. The Monarchs were able to persevere and take the first set 28-27.
 
King's began the second set 5-2 after kills by Greenawalt, Logan Dougherty (Fy.), and Bousquet. The hosts were able to climb back within one after two straight points. It was point-for-point from then on with the Monarchs maintaining their lead. The score was 17-17 when Eastern took over King's, but the visitors weren't going down without a fight as they tied it at 20-20 after a kill by Gavin Gilhool (Jr.). The Monarchs had one last tally by Bousquet before the Eagles won the second set 25-21.
 
The third set was much like the second as King's were in control with a 3-1 start that included points by Ben Maskiell (So.) and Bousquet. Eastern came back to tie it multiple times during the match as both teams were searching for a breakthrough. The score was 9-9 when the Monarchs made a three-point swing that comprised of kills made by Gilhool and Bousquet. The Eagles returned with their own 6-1 run before the set became yet another battle. King's eventually lost the set 25-20.
 
It was a must win set for the Monarchs, each team was not going to make it easy for one another as the lead never went above two points. King's created a 6-2 push to make the score 15-11. Eastern answered with their own 7-1 jolt to take over. The Monarchs pestered their hosts with three straight tallies on the scoreboard to put them up one. Eastern was able to withstand King's and take the final set 25-22.
 
The Monarchs finished with 52 kills, 50 assists, nine blocks, 35 digs, and a hitting percentage of .304. Bousquet had a team-high of 14 kills and Dougherty followed with his own 10. Rich Alvarez fueled the offense with nine kills himself. Maskiell earned a career-best of 43 assists with seven digs and five kills. Gilhool paced the defensive end with six blocks and three digs, while adding eight kills. Declan Larson (Sr.) produced 12 digs during the four-set night.
 
The Eagles ended with 60 kills on 60 assists, six blocks, 39 digs, and a hitting percentage of .328. Quarles led the night with 13 kills, three blocks, and three digs. Bagileo followed with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .647. Symir Byrd contributed 10 kills and nine digs, while Adam Lucas added 10 kills of his own and five digs. Chris Miller passed out 32 helpers and Josh Hrabosky had 27.
 
King's are back in action on Sunday, February 25^th at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. for a tri-match against Yeshiva and Saint Elizabeth in McGrane Gymnasium. The unit will then have a short break to take on Messiah on the road at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27^th.