WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 8, 2025) -- The King's College men's volleyball split their Saturday tri-match against Virginia Wesleyan and Fisher. The Monarchs fell to the Marlins 0-3, but prevailed and defeated the Falcons 3-0 to end the afternoon.
 
vs. Virginia Wesleyan – L, 0-3 (14-25, 23-25, 26-28):
King's (5-4) had the edge, 4-3, early behind back-to-back blocks, but Virginia Wesleyan (5-2) rattled off the next five as part of a 12-4 run that put the Marlins ahead, 15-8, midway through the set. The Monarchs kept the set within reach, but trailing 18-12 the visitors closed the set on a 7-2 rally to take the opener, 25-14, over the Monarchs.
 
Logan Dougherty got King's rolling to start the second, but the Marlins responded with the next four points. King's then went on a 13-3 run of their own that featured kills by four different Monarchs to take a 14-7 edge. Holding on to a 17-13 lead, the Monarchs saw Virginia Wesleyan climb back into the set with an 8-1 spurt. The teams traded points down the stretch, but after a kill from Ben Maskiell and an ace from Mason Lesher, the Marlins got the point they needed to close out the set and defeat King's, 25-23.
 
The final set of the match was an instant thriller for the home crowd in McGrane Gymnasium. King's used the momentum from the second set to go toe-to-toe with Virginia Wesleyan in the third. Neither team led by more than two points, and the set featured 12 ties and two lead changes. Trailing 18-17 late, the Monarchs capitalized on a Marlins service error to score four unanswered, fueled by a pair of scores from Greg Bousquet. Virginia Wesleyan battled back to extend the set, but with a 25-24 lead late, the Monarchs could not hang on to top their foes as they fell, 28-26, in the third, and 3-0 in their home opener.
 
Dougherty led the offense with 10 kills on 26 attempts, hitting .346, while Bousquet added seven kills, six digs, and two blocks. Aiden Glasgow paced the defense with eight digs, and Rich Alvarez had three blocks. Gavin Gilhool had a balanced game of six kills and three blocks, while Logan Place also added six kills. Maskiell dished out 22 helpers to go along with four digs.
 
Christian Harris led the Marlins with 10 kills, while JaMarhe Wills had 13 digs. Jagger Ogle dished out 23 assists, and Terrell Lee-Roosevelt Taylor had four blocks.
 
As a team, the Monarchs had 32 kills off 27 assists in the match while totaling 28 digs, seven blocks, and three aces.
 
vs. Fisher – W, 3-0 (25-12, 25-9, 25-14):
The first set went back-and-forth to start the matchup. It was 8-7 when King's (6-4) made a 17-5 push thanks to tallies by Logan Dougherty, Gavin Gilhool, Greg Bousquet, Logan Aikens, and Alex Martellacci. The Monarchs won 25-12.
 
The Monarchs maintained their edge with 11 straight points that included five aces by Ben Maskiell in the second set. The Falcons (0-5) looked to pester King's but the hosts had every answer. The Monarchs collected back-to-back tallies to take the second set 25-9.
 
King's had an early 13-5 cushion in the final set. Fisher tacked on a 5-0 run to get within four of the Monarchs. The hosts stayed composed and delivered a 10-3 jolt that comprised of kills by Martellacci and Bousquet. Fisher scored two straight before falling to King's 25-14.
 
Dougherty had a team-high of 11 kills with a hitting percentage of 0.846. Maskiell collected 22 of the squad's 32 assists with five assists. Martellacci produced seven digs with six kills.
 
Thomas Bollentin had four kills and Mark Pierre dished out five assists with three digs for the Falcons. Dangelo Jimenez picked up three digs.
 
King's will travel to Elms College on Friday, February 14^th at 6 p.m. The team will take on Dean College and New Jersey City on Saturday, February 15^th at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. in Franklin, MA.