WILKES-BARRE, PA (September 27, 2024) -- The King's College women's volleyball team witnessed eight different players earn double digit stats to bring in a 3-1 win over the Nittany Lions of Penn State Hazleton. The Monarchs move to 11-3 overall after picking up their ninth win of the season in McGrane Gymnasium. Morgan Williams (Jr.) achieved a career-milestone of 100 aces within the matchup.
 
King's started the first set strong with back-to-back kills by Jessica Menze (Fy.). The Nittany Lions began trading points with their hosts soon after and took the lead. The Monarchs were down by one when they produced a 6-1 jolt that comprised of tallies by Viannce Sinocruz (So.), Kathy Shepherd (Jr.), and Emma Bolich (So.) to make it 12-8. It was not until the scoreboard showed 16-11 when Penn State Hazleton came back with vengeance and created an 8-3 burst to tie the first set. From then on, the visitors maintained their control and took the set 25-23.
 
King's took charge with an 8-3 run to begin the second set and force a Nittany Lions timeout thanks to kills by Lindsay Arezina (So.), Theresa Lynch (Jr.), Salvia, and Bolich. Penn State Hazleton looked to inch their way closer, but the Monarchs had every answer. After two straight points by Lynch, King's polished off a 25-13 win.
 
It was a battle throughout the third set with six ties and five lead changes. The matchup was back-and-forth as neither team gave up more than two points at a time. The score was 16-16 when Nittany Lions connected with three straight tallies, but the Monarchs responded back with a 7-2 spurt to make it 23-21. Penn State Hazleton made one final kill before King's remained victorious, 25-22.
 
In the fourth and final set of the night was a round of rallies for each team. It was 5-5 when the Monarchs broke free with a 6-1 jolt that included Shepherd, Salvia, and Sinocruz. Penn State Hazleton was not going out silently and answered back with their own 6-2 burst to get within one. Soon after, King's created another 7-2 run thanks to kills by Menze, Salvia, Shepherd, and Bolich. The Nittany Lions continued to pester the Monarchs but the squad prevailed and after a final kill by Bolich, King's won 25-19.
 
The Monarchs ended with 61 kills on 59 assists, eight aces, seven blocks, 98 digs, and a hitting percentage of .256. Sinocruz registered a double-double of 22 assists and 14 digs with six kills. Salvia had 12 kills with a hitting percentage of .308, while Bolich and Shepherd were right behind with their own 11. Keely Hoban (Sr.) dished out 23 assists and tacked on four digs to the stat sheet. Williams contributed 27 kills with eight assists and four aces. Bryn Giordano (So.) collected 19 digs and Riley McArdle (Fy.) had 14.
 
Penn State Hazleton finished with 38 kills, 35 assists, eight aces, and 68 digs. Sydney Mack (Jr.) fueled the team with 11 kills and eight digs. Sarah Ballek (So.) was right behind with nine kills of her own. Sophia Del Vacchio (So.) passed out 29 assists and added 14 digs. Nora Jones (So.) recorded 22 digs for the night.
 
King's are back on the road for a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom match against Delaware Valley at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 1^st. The squad will be back in McGrane Gymnasium to take on Marywood at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 3^rd.