ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (January 20, 2026) -- The King's College men's volleyball team embarked on their first road trip of the 2026 campaign, falling 3-0 to Elizabethtown College on Tuesday evening at the Thompson Gymnasium. The Monarchs move to 1-2 on the season while the Blue Jays improve to 5-1.
 
Elizabethtown jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the first set before a pair of kills by Alex Martellacci along with one by Logan Place cut the Monarchs' deficit to two. King's continued to hang around throughout the middle stages of the frame; trading points before a pair of 4-0 Blue Jay runs established a 10-point cushion for the hosts. The Monarchs attempted a late push as Greg Bousquet spiked a ball to the court on a set from Ben Maskiell, however Elizabethtown shut the door to win the set, 25-13.
 
After the Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second set, King's responded with a 3-1 run of their own - capped by another Place kill - to pull themselves within a point of leveling the score. The Monarchs had an answer for every E-Town point and stayed within three points through the majority of the set. A pair of Blue Jay attacking errors and another kill by Martellacci kept King's within striking distance down the stretch, but Elizabethtown claimed another set victory, 25-18.
 
The hosts took another early lead in the third set before Brian Weaver stopped the bleeding with a kill, bringing the score to 7-2 in favor of E-Town. King's began to build momentum after snapping the Blue Jays' run and clawed their way back into the set thanks to successful attacks by Bousquet, Martellacci, Antonio Tavarez and Weaver. Facing a 14-11 deficit, the Monarchs continued to keep pace with Elizabethtown as the third set came down to the wire. A final push by the Blue Jays extinguished King's comeback, securing a 25-18 win for the second consecutive set and closing out a 3-0 victory for the hosts.
 
As a team, the Monarchs produced 23 kills, four blocks and a .059 hitting percentage.  Martellacci led the way with six kills and six digs. Maskiell recorded a team-high 20 assists and eight digs, while Place and Bousquet notched five kills apiece. Aiden Glasgow and Bousquet turned in seven-dig performances.
 
The Monarchs return to action on Saturday, January 24 to take on Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ. First serve against the Roadrunners is set for 12:00 p.m.