WILKES-BARRE, PA (August 30, 2024) -- The King's College women's volleyball team started the season off strong on Friday night with a tri-match sweep over the Penn State Schuylkill Nittany Lions (0-2) and the Saint Elizabeth Eagles (1-1). In McGrane Gymnasium, the Monarchs (2-0) defeated the Nittany Lions 3-0, while also gaining a 3-0 win over the Eagles. 

vs. Penn State Schuylkill - W, 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-17):
It was a battle to start the opening set as both teams traded points. The score was 5-4 when King's broke free with a 13-2 run that included tallies made by Ashley Webber (Fy.), Emma Bolich (So.), Kathy Shepherd (Jr.), and Adriana Conforti (Sr.). Penn State Schuylkill paused the Monarchs with back-to-back points, but King's continued their stride with kills by Shepherd and Madisyn Heiser-Elsea (So.). The Nittany Lions pestered their hosts with a 6-0 burst to make the score 22-15, but the Monarchs prevailed and took the first set 25-16.

In the second set, King's began with a 7-3 lead after kills made by Webber and Mia Campanile (Jr.). The Monarchs maintained their lead throughout the set, but Penn State Schuylkill retaliated several times looking to gain an edge on their opponent. Every two points made by King's, the Nittany Lions responded back with their own two. The score was 23-14 when the Monarchs forced a timeout from their opposers. King's notched off a 25-16 second set win after two straight kills by Bolich and Lindsay Arezina (So.).

In the third and final set of the match, Penn State Schuylkill came back with vengeance by scoring four tallies in a row. The Monarchs adjusted and put together a 15-2 spurt that comprised of several kills by Bella Salvia (Jr.), Heiser-Elsea, Theresa Lynch (Jr.), and Bolich. It was 23-10 when the Nittany Lions rallied with seven unanswered points. Viannce Sinocruz (So.) and Bolich scored the last two tallies to help King's polish off a 25-17 victory. 

The Monarchs ended with 43 kills, 39 assists, seven aces, 38 digs, and a hitting percentage of .255. Bolich led the squad with nine kills and a hitting percentage of .727. Shepherd followed with seven kills. Webber and Sinocruz dished out 13 assists each. Keely Hoban (Sr.) was right behind with her own 11 assists. Morgan Williams (Jr.) sparked the defensive end with 14 digs. 

Penn State Schuylkill finished with 25 kills, 23 assists, 38 digs, and a hitting percentage of .134. Sydney Morton (Sr.) fueled the offense with nine kills and Ryliegh Sinko (Fy.) passed out 17 assists. Sierra Wishnefsky (Jr.) had nine digs.

vs. Saint Elizabeth - W, 3-0 (25-18, 25-10, 25-6):
The first set was neck-and-neck as both adversaries tried to build a lead.The score was 10-8 when the Monarchs took a 4-1 jolt to force an Eagles timeout. After the break, Saint Elizabeth had three straight tallies to once again get within two. King's were able to stay ahead of their visitors, not allowing them to go closer than two, and won the first set 25-18. 

The start of the second set was much like the first with the Eagles inching their way to overcome their hosts. The score was 9-7 when the Monarchs dealt eight points in a row to widen their lead thanks to Kathy Shepherd (Jr.), Ashley Webber (Fy.), and Viannce Sinocruz (So.). Saint Elizabeth annoyed King's but after back-to-back kills by Theresa Lynch (Jr.) and Emma Bolich (So.), the Monarchs polished off a 25-10 victory. 

King's controlled much of the matchup in the third and final set without allowing the Eagles to score more than one point at a time. With a final kill by Antonia Leary (Fy.), the Monarchs celebrated a 25-6 win.

King's finished with 37 kills, 34 assists, eight aces, 62 digs, and a hitting percentage of .337. Webber produced seven kills, while Shepherd and Bella Salvia (Jr.) followed with five each. Sinocruz handed out 19 assists and 11 digs. Morgan Williams (Jr.) picked up 18 digs and Riley McArdle had 11. 

Saint Elizabeth's Taylor Liriano (Jr.) fueled the Eagles with five kills and 10 digs. Kristina Ashton (Sr.) had 14 of the team's 17 assists. Alyssa Wells (Fy.) pushed the defense with 18 digs.

The Monarchs will be back in McGrane Gymnasium after the holiday break on Tuesday, September 3^rd at 6 p.m. to take on the Patriots of Valley Forge. The squad will have a home tri-match against Rosemont and Centenary (NJ) on Saturday, September 7^th at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.