CHICOPEE, MA (February 13, 2026)—The King's College men's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 setback on the road against Elms College on Friday evening. The result puts the Monarchs at 3-6 on the season while the Blazers improve to 11-2 overall.

Elms jumped out to an early 5–1 lead in the opening set behind a strong service run and maintained control of the set. King's responded with a brief push, trimming the deficit to 7-6 after back-to-back service aces from Logan Place, but the Blazers answered with a steady stretch of points to rebuild the advantage. Elms continued to extend the margin through the middle of the frame, eventually pushing the lead to 21-14. The Monarchs tried to stay within striking distance late with kills from Greg Bousquet, Place, and Luke Hammond, but the Blazers closed out the set, 25-18, to take a 1-0 match lead.

After dropping the opening set, the Monarchs responded with a strong start in the second. King's built an early 6-3 advantage and used a long mid-set run to extend the lead to 15-7. Kills from Bousquet, Alex Schoch, and Antonio Tavarez helped maintain control, while a service ace from Place kept the pressure on.

Elms rallied late in the frame, capitalizing on several Monarch attack errors to trim the deficit to 21-20. King's answered immediately, as Place delivered a pair of late kills to restore separation. The Monarchs held off the comeback attempt and closed out the set, 25-23, to even the match at one set apiece.

Elms regained control in the third set after the teams traded points early. The frame was tied at 7-7 following a kill from Alex Martellacci, but the Blazers used a strong run in the middle of the set to create separation, building a 14-9 advantage. The Monarchs attempted to stay within reach as Martellacci, Bousquet, and Tavarez delivered key kills to trim the deficit to 18-13.

King's continued to fight, cutting the margin to six at 20-14, but Elms answered each push and maintained the lead. The Blazers closed out the set on a late service ace to secure a 25-15 victory and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set was tightly contested from the start, with neither team able to create separation early. The score was tied at 4-4, 8-8, and again at 10-10 as kills from Place and Martellacci kept the Monarchs even. King's built a brief 14–11 advantage after a block from Tavarez and Brian Weaver, but Elms responded to tie the set at 14-14.

From there, the teams traded points throughout the late stages. The set was deadlocked at 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, and 22-22, with Martellacci continuing to provide key swings for the Monarchs. After additional ties at 24-24, 26-26, and 28-28, Elms finally gained the final edge in extended play. The Blazers secured the final two points to claim a 30–28 victory and close out the match.

King's finished with 43 kills, 22 errors, and a .152 hitting percentage, while Elms posted 63 kills, 18 errors, and a .331 hitting percentage.

Martellacci led King's with 12 kills and added nine digs. Place and Bousquet each contributed eight kills, with Place also recording three aces. Tavarez, Weaver, and Schoch anchored the front line with four blocks each. Weaver led the team with 23 assists, followed by Brady Taylor with nine, while Aiden Glasgow added 11 digs and two assists.

The Monarchs return to action on Saturday, February 14 as they head to Franklin, MA to take on Curry College and host Dean College in a tri-match set for a 12:00 p.m. start.