WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 14, 2024) -- The King's College women's volleyball team went 1-1 in McGrane Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs (7-1) fell to the Keystone Giants 3-1 but came back and defeated the Medgar Evers Cougars 3-0. The squad broke the record for total aces in a three-set game with 28 team aces in the won over Medgar Evers (0-5). 

vs. Keystone - L, 1-3 (23-25, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25):
It was a battle from the start with 14 tied scores and four lead changes. The scoreboard was even at 7-7 when Keystone (7-2) made a 3-0 run to get ahead. King's answered back with their own 8-2 jolt to regain control that included tallies made by Kathy Shepherd (Jr.), Ashley Webber (Fy.), Emma Bolich (So.), Morgan Williams (Jr.), and Keely Hoban (Sr.). From then on it was back-and-forth between the two adversaries once again. The Giants ultimately took the first set 25-23. 

Keystone maintained their momentum and were up 10-5 over the Monarchs. After a King's timeout, the squad fired up and went on a 12-7 burst to tie the game at 17-17 with points made by Madisyn Heiser-Elsea (So.), Hannah Swinsburg (Fy.), Jessica Menze (Fy.), and Williams. The set was neck-and-neck, but the Monarchs prevailed and won 25-22

The third set was much like the first seeing several ties and lead changes. Shepherd deadlocked the set at 15-15, but the Giants managed to stay ahead with a final 10-3 run and outlasted King's 25-18. 

It was a must win set for the Monarchs and Keystone stayed in control for the most of the set. The score was 11-13 when King's made a 7-3 run after kills made by Swinsburg, Mia Campanile (Jr.), and Shepherd to force a Keystone time out. The Giants went on a final 9-2 spurt to remain victorious 25-20.

King's ended with 42 kills, 39 assists, nine aces, six blocks, 79 digs, and a hitting percentage of .058. Menze produced nine kills with four blocks, while Shepherd and Swinsburg followed with seven kills each. Viannce Sinocruz (So.) collected a new career-high of 24 assists and Williams registered 24 digs. 

Keystone finished with 52 kills, 48 assists, six aces, eight blocks, 86 digs, and a hitting percentage of .131. Taylor Hallam (So.) set a standard of 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .370 and added eight digs to the stat sheet. Elise Burk (5th) passed out 26 assist and Catie Woolf (Fy.) had a team-high of 20 digs.

vs. Medgar Evers - W, 3-0 (25-2, 25-3, 25-6):
King's had control of the first set from the jump and defeated Medgar Evers 25-2 after a final kill by Emma Bolch (So.). 

The Monarchs maintained their momentum and Viannce Sinocruz (So.) obtained the final ace of the second set to polish off a 25-3 win.

The third and final set of the afternoon was much like the rest. The Cougars would chip away at their deficit, but King's had every answer. The Monarchs remained victorious, 25-8. 

King's finished with 30 kills, 28 assists, 28 aces, 23 digs, and a hitting percentage of .453. Bryn Giordano (So.) broke the three-set match record for aces with 18. Ashley Webber (Fy.) dished out 15 assists. Lindsay Arezina (So.) earned a career-best of 11 kills. Devan Moses picked up eight digs.

Medgar Evers' Britonya Lloyd (Jr.) had three kills. Raine Williams (Jr.) collected three assists and five digs.

The Monarchs will have their first road test on Tuesday, September 17^th at 6p.m. against Penn College. The squad are back on the road to take on SUNY-Delhi on Thursday, September 19^th at 6 p.m.