ALBANY, NY (February 1, 2025) -- The King's College men's volleyball team went 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Robinson Court at Kahl Campus Center. The Monarchs swept Manhattanville 3-0 in game one and defeated Russell Sage 3-2 in game two.
 
vs. Manhattanville, W 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-22):
King's started off strong with a 3-1 lead thanks to kills by Logan Dougherty and Greg Bousquet. Though from then on it was a back-and-forth affair as Manhattanville tried to overcome the Monarchs. The score was 17-15 when the Monarchs made a lasting 8-4 push that included Ben Maskiell, Dougherty, Rich Alvarez, Bousquet, Gavin Gilhool, and Logan Place to win the first set 25-19.
 
The second set was like the first with King's in control. The Valiants tied the matchup four separate times, but the Monarchs were not going to allow their opponents to gain a larger lead than one. Manhattanville pestered King's throughout the set, yet the Monarchs stayed composed towards the end. After a block by Logan Aikens and Mason Lesher, King's remained victorious 25-21.
 
The third and final set of game one had 12 ties and eight lead changes. It was 16-16 when the Monarchs made a 5-1 jolt that comprised of tallies by Place and Lesher to break away from the Valiants. Manhattanville responded back with their own 5-2 push get within one. King's prevailed with two straight tallies to take the third set, 25-22.
 
The Monarchs ended with 31 kills, 28 assists, 13 blocks, and 33 digs. Dougherty led the squad with 12 kills and had a hitting percentage of .345. Place was right behind with his own 10 kills and four blocks. Maskiell dished out 27 assists. Alvarez collected a career-high of seven blocks. Aiden Glasgow fueled the defense with 11 digs.
 
The Valiants finished with 34 kills, 33 assists, and 40 digs. Emil Medrano produced 13 kills and nine digs. Mason Moon had 19 assists with six digs. Idris Idris followed with his own 11 helpers. Evan Rapp earned a team-high of 10 digs.
 
vs. Russell Sage, W 3-2 (25-22, 25-15, 18-25, 24-26, 15-7):
It was a battle in the first set with 13 ties and six lead changes. King's was up, 20-19, when Russell Sage made a three-point swing to get on top. Though the Monarchs came right back at them with five straight tallies that included Rich Alvarez, Greg Bousquet, and Logan Dougherty to take the set 25-22.
 
King's maintained their same energy to start the second set with a 15-4 lead thanks to Dougherty, Ben Maskiell, Alvarez, and Bousquet. The hosts responded with their own 10-4 jolt to get back into the game. The Monarchs were not going to go quietly and made one last 6-1 run that comprised of kills by Alvarez and Bousquet to claim a 25-15 victory.
 
The third set was unlike the others as the two adversaries went back-and-forth. Russell Sage had control of the set from the beginning and never allowed King's to take over. The Gators won the third set 25-18.
 
The fourth set of the evening was neck-and-neck with the score evening 17 times and the lead changing 10 different instances. It was deadlocked at 12-12 when the Monarchs created a 5-2 burst. Russell Sage answered with their own 6-2 push to regain their advantage. The matchup proceeded to go point-for-point when Alvarez added a tally to even the score 24-24. The Gators had the last laugh by putting up two straight points to take the fourth 26-24 and force a fifth set.
 
King's came back with vengeance and produced an 11-4 run with an all around effort by the Monarchs. Russell Sage tried to come back with three straight points, but the Monarchs had all the momentum. After a final kill by Dougherty, King's celebrated a 15-7 victory.
 
The Monarchs ended the battle with 39 kills, 35 assists, 10 aces, 13 blocks, and 41 digs. Bousquet had 14 kills. Dougherty collected 11 kills, seven digs, and three blocks. Maskiell had 33 helpers with three kills, five aces, and five digs. Aiden Glasgow earned 13 digs.
 
The Gators finished with 50 kills, 47 assists, 12 aces, eight blocks, and 35 digs. Dylan Fox fueled the offense with 19 kills. John Lindheimer had a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs. Anthony Guetti passed out 41 assists. Jack McWilliam accumulated 10 digs.
 
King's will take on Penn State Schuylkill at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5^th. The squad will have their home opener on Saturday, February 8^th at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. against Virginia Wesleyan and Fisher College (MA).