WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 21, 2024) -- The King's College women's volleyball team split their Senior Saturday tri-match against the Privateers of Maritime (2-9) and the Mules of Muhlenberg (5-5). The Monarchs (10-2) defeated the Privateers 3-0 and fell to the Mules 3-1 in McGrane Gymnasium.
 
vs. Maritime College – W, 3-0  (25-22, 25-10, 25-8):
The first set of the afternoon was a battle with 12 tied scores and nine lead changes. Maritime scored four straight points before King's went on a 6-1 run that included tallies by Adriana Conforti (Sr.), Lindsay Arezina (So.), Morgan Williams (Jr.), and Kathy Shepherd (Jr.). It went back-and-forth between the two opponents, neither gaining a lead greater than three. It was 17-18 when the Monarchs took over with a 6-1 jolt that comprised of kills by Emma Bolich (So.), Shepherd, and Bella Salvia (Jr.). The Privateers made one last 3-0 push, when the Monarchs stayed composed and produced back-to-back points by Bolich and Salvia. King's took the first set 25-22.
 
The Monarchs maintained their momentum with 7-3 start of the second set thanks to Jessica Menze (Fy.), Conforti, Arezina, and Shepherd. From then on King's controlled the match by not allowing Maritime to get with three. The score was 11-8 when the Monarchs picked up 12 unanswered tallies to gain a 15-point cushion. King's remained victorious 25-10.
 
The third and final set of the matchup was much like the second with the Monarchs having an18-4 advantage. The Privateers looked to chip away at their deficit, but the hosts had every answer.  King's polished off a 25-8 win while seeing new faces add tallies to the scoreboard that included Viannce Sinocruz (So.) and Theresa Lynch (Jr.).
 
The Monarchs ended with 41 kills, 39 assists, nine aces, 44 digs, and a hitting percentage of .315. Arezina paced the team with 10 kills with a hitting percentage of .556, while Salvia and Menze had eight kills each. Hoban dished out 24 assists and had seven digs. Williams added nine digs to the stat column.
 
Maritime collected 19 kills, 18 assists, five aces, 29 digs, and a hitting percentage of .023. Ashley Pavarini (So.) fueled the offense with six kills and eight assists. Victoria Cordero (Sr.) finished with nine digs.
 
vs. Muhlenberg College – L, 1-3 (25-23, 13-25, 24-26, 12-25):
The Monarchs has a steady 7-2 lead to start the first set thanks to tallies by Jessica Menze (Fy.), Lindsay Arezina (So.), Bella Salvia (Jr.), and Riley McArdle (Fy.). The two adversaries began trading points, but King's were not allowing Muhlenberg to take control. The score was 18-12 when the Mules had a 5-0 spurt to get within one. After yet another 7-3 push, the visitors took the lead 22-21. After a final kill by Menze, King's clung onto a 25-23 win.
 
The crowd witnessed six ties and four lead changes in the second set. The Monarchs stayed ahead, but Muhlenberg continued to pester the hosts by staying on their tails throughout the round. King's were up by one when the Mules took over with a 19-6 run to down King's 25-13.
 
Muhlenberg maintained their momentum in the third set of the late afternoon matchup. The Mules had a steady two-point lead, but the Monarchs were inching their way to gain an advantage on their visitors. King's were down 24-19 when the place erupted after the squad connected with five-straight points thanks to tallies by Menze, Keely Hoban (Sr.), and Arezina to tie it at 24-24. The Mules withstood the Monarch fight and won 26-24.
 
King's finished with 28 kills, 27 assists, seven aces, seven blocks, and 57 digs. Menze produced seven kills and five blocks with a hitting percentage of .875. Salvia had her own six kills and Hoban passed out 18 assists. On the defensive end, Morgan Williams (Jr.) and McArdle contributed 14 digs each.
 
Muhlenberg ended with 59 kills, 55 assists, 10 aces, seven blocks, and 65 digs. Esmae Oehler (Sr.) had a team high of 16 kills with seven digs. Rachel Jacobs (Sr.) followed with 13 kills and five blocks. Jenny Ryan (So.) dished out 45 assists and had 11 digs. Christina Marcin (Jr.) sparked the defense with 15 digs.
 
The Monarchs will open Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom play with a home match against Arcadia at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25^th. The squad will have a short turnaround as they host Penn State Hazleton on Friday, September 27^th at 6 p.m.