WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 25, 2024) -- The non-conference home win streak continues as the King's College men's volleyball team picked up their 26^th win in a row after defeating both the Maccabees of Yeshiva and the Eagles of Saint Elizabeth on Sunday afternoon. The Monarchs (13-2, 0-2 MAC) won 3-0 against the Maccabees (0-10) and went on to go 3-0 against the Eagles (3-9) in McGrane Gymnasium.
 
vs. Yeshiva, W 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-11):
King's had a slow start in the first set as Yeshiva picked up the first three points. The Monarchs created a spark after a kill by Nick Greenawalt (Sr.) to go on a 12-1 run. This run comprised of three straight kills by Logan Dougherty (Fy.) and a tally by Greg Bousquet (So.). The Maccabees made a 3-1 push, but King's maintained their control. The Monarchs made another 11-1 jolt that included tallies by Greenawalt, Rich Alvarez (Jr.), Gavin Gilhool (Jr.), David Hernandez (So.), and Ben Maskiell (So.) Maskiell notched his 100^th career ace during this time. King's took the first set 25-12
 
The Monarchs continued their momentum as they had a 6-2 lead to start the second set. Yeshiva was able to put three tallies on the scoreboard to get within one. Though King's put up a 15-10 run before the Maccabees called a time out with the score at 21-11. The Monarchs edged their opponents and stood victorious 25-12.
 
The third and final set was much like the second. King's forced their visitors to take a time out as they had an early 10-3 lead with kills by Andrew Bafuma (Jr.) and Gilhool. The Monarchs continued their push and with a final kill by Logan Aikens (Fy.), King's celebrated a 25-11 win.
 
The Monarchs ended with 37 kills, 31 assists, nine aces, 11 blocks, 24 digs, and a hitting percentage of .419. Maskiell tabbed his 100^th career ace, marking it the first time in program history. The sophomore setter also had 11 assists in the non-conference matchup. Aidan Kraus set a standard of 19 assists and Dougherty earned 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .538. Gilhool tallied six kills and five blocks for the afternoon.
 
The Maccabees finished with 12 kills, 12 assists, three aces, 11 digs, and a hitting percentage of -.089. Both Lavi Friedman and Andrew Pinchot paced the offense with three kills and Friedman added a team-high of seven digs. Eli Waxman dished out nine assists.
 
vs. Saint Elizabeth, W 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-14):
King's had a 15-5 start of the first set that comprised of points made by Gavin Gilhool (Jr.), Logan Dougherty (Fy.), Ben Maskiell (So.), and David Hernandez (So.). After a timeout made by Saint Elizabeth, the opponent was able to put one on the scoreboard, but the Monarchs were not going away as they went on a 5-2 run to force another timeout. King's went on to win 25-10 with a final kill made by Dougherty.

The Monarchs started the second set hot with three straight kills by Greg Bousquet (So.) and Gilhool. King's were pestered by the Eagles as every time they scored three, their visitors would score two. Though the Monarchs would maintain a four-point lead for much of the set. The score was 20-14 after a timeout when King's made five of the last nine points to outlast Saint Elizabeth 25-17.
 
The third and final set was a battle with four ties and two lead changes. It was a point-for-point matchup as both teams were searching to break free. It was 8-8 when the Monarchs took a 11-3 spurt that included points by Nick Greenawalt (Sr.), Maskiell, Bousquet, and Dougherty. Saint Elizabeth would call a timeout to rally the troops, but King's continued to agitate the Eagles and not allow more than one point to be scored. The Monarchs stood victorious 25-14.
 
King's had 33 kills, 29 assists, seven aces, five blocks, 27 digs, and a hitting percentage of .371. Dougherty posted 10 kills and five digs. Bousquet followed with his own six kills and five digs. Maskiell filled the stat sheet with 28 of the squad's 29 assists with three kills and two aces. Gilhool had four blocks and three kills. Mike Bizzoco fueled the defense with nine digs.
 
Saint Elizabeth had 19 kills, 19 assists, 13 digs, and a hitting percentage of .014. Eddy Pena and Eusebio Veras both had five kills. Diego Rondon passed out 19 helpers and Jerry Chablay had four digs.
 
The Monarchs will travel to Grantham, PA to take on Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) opponent Messiah at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27^th. The crew will finish the month with a non-conference matchup against Penn State Schuylkill on Thursday, February 29^th at 7 p.m.