WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 22, 2025) -- The King's College men's volleyball team gained a home Saturday sweep over Wilson and Bryn Athyn on Saturday afternoon. The Monarchs dropped the Phoenix 3-0 in game one and defeated the Lions 3-0 in game two.
 
vs. Wilson – W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18):
It was a true battle to start the day in McGrane Gymnasium as King's (9-6) battled back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the set, 4-4. Wilson (4-9) rattled off three straight before the teams traded scores. Trailing 9-6, the Monarchs scored four unanswered thanks to a Phoenix error, a block by Logan Aikens and Greg Bousquet, a kill from Logan Dougherty, and an ace from Ben Maskiell. With the set tied, 12-12, King's had another 3-0 run to take the lead. Wilson closed within two, 20-18, late, but the Monarchs scored the next three to build the edge and hold off a late surge from the Phoenix to secure the 25-21 win in the first.
 
The second started much different than the first with the Monarchs surging out to a 9-1 start. After two quick Phoenix tallies, King's had another 5-0 spurt with two kills and a block assist from Bousquet. Maintaining their 20-9 advantage late, but Wilson battled back with a 7-3 run, but a kill from Logan Place and a Phoenix error gave King's the 25-16 victory in the second to jump ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
Wilson got the first point of the third, but King's answered with four straight. The teams went back-and-forth, but with the Monarchs ahead 13-11 they went on a tear with a 10-1 run behind a pair of kills and a block from Gavin Gilhool to jump ahead, 18-11. The Phoenix did not go away quietly, scoring five late points, but Dougherty put the game away with two kills to defeat Wilson, 25-18, in the third and 3-0 for the match.
 
Dougherty led with 12 kills on 20 attempts, hitting .400, with nine digs and a block, while Place went 11-for-17 with no errors and a .647 hitting percentage. Bousquet added 10 kills, five digs, and four blocks, while Maskiell had 38 assists, three aces, and seven digs. Aiden Glasgow led the defense with 10 digs, while Gilhool had five blocks.
 
Wilson was paced by Jackson Wolfe with nine kills, while Camden Sterner had 11 digs. Satvik Sharma had 25 assists.
 
The Monarchs had a strong outing, hitting .442 for the match while limiting the Phoenix to a .117 hitting percentage. King's edged out Wilson 43-29 in kills, 8-3 in blocks, 42-27 in assists, and 38-24 in digs.
 
vs. Bryn Athyn – W, 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-11):
King's (10-6) were down 5-4 against Bryn Athyn (6-10) when the squad had a 16-4 spark that included tallies by Greg Bousquet, Gavin Gilhool, Ben Maskiell, Logan Dougherty, and Alex Martellacci. Bryn Athyn looked to take control, but after a kill by Gilhool, the Monarchs secured a 25-14 win in the first set.
 
The two adversaries went back-and-forth to start the second set with five ties. The score was deadlocked at 10-10 when King's broke free with an 11-5 jolt that comprised of points made by Maskiell, Logan Aikens, Gilhool, and Dougherty. The Lions answered back with a 4-1 run to stay within three. The Monarchs had three straight tallies to remain victorious, 25-19.
 
The third and final set was even 10-10 when King's created an 11-5 burst thanks to Maskiell, Aikens, Gilhool, and Dougherty. Bryn Athyn produced one last 4-1 run before the Monarchs collected three unanswered points to celebrate a 25-19 win.
 
Dougherty sparked the offense with 14 points on 11 kills, two blocks, two aces, and a hitting percentage of .846. Martellacci was right behind with eight kills and four digs.  Maskiell dished out 21 helpers with three aces. Gilhool had four blocks, four kills, two aces, and a hitting percentage of .667.
 
Bryn Athyn's Miles Sheppard pushed the Lions with 13 kills, a block, and six digs. Bryan Chute followed with is own seven kills and two aces. Doston Dosmatov passed out 13 assists and Atai Esenov had 11. On the defensive end, Adan Rodriguez-Sapien had nine digs.
 
King's are back in McGrane Gymnasium on Thursday, February 27^th at 7 p.m. as they have a Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) battle against Eastern. The squad will have a short break before taking on Neumann and Elizabethtown on Saturday, March 1^st at 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.