WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 26, 2026) -- The King's College men's volleyball team dropped their first Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) contest of the season to Misericordia University on Thursday evening at the McGrane Gymnasium by a score of 3-0. The Monarchs move to 5-9 overall and open MAC play with an 0-1 record. The Cougars improve to 9-10 on the season and jump out to a 1-0 start to conference action.
 
The opening frame stayed even through the early stages as King's received strong defensive play at the net. Blocks from Alex Schoch and Alex Martellacci, along with swings from Logan Place and Greg Bousquet, helped the Monarchs stay tied at 8-8.
 
The Cougars used a key run to take control, piecing together a 6-2 stretch that built a 14-10 cushion. King's stayed close with kills from Place and Bousquet, but the visitors followed with another 5-2 run to move ahead 21-14. The Monarchs trimmed the deficit with a late push, yet Misericordia closed out the set, 25-20.
 
King's established momentum at the beginning of the second set. An early ace from Schoch and a transition kill from Bousquet brought the Monarchs level at 6-6. However, the Cougars responded immediately with the largest unanswered run of the match, scoring six straight points to surge ahead 12-6.
 
The Monarchs broke the run with sideouts from Antonio Tavarez, Place, and Ben Maskiell, but the visitors continued to add separation with another multi‑point stretch that widened the margin to double digits. King's fought to generate rhythm late in the frame, but two final service aces sealed the second set, 25-15.
 
The third set saw King's deliver its strongest and most sustained push of the night. A block from Schoch and Place and a Schoch ace helped the Monarchs build an early 4-2 edge. After back‑and‑forth scoring brought the frame to 8-8, the Monarchs produced a small burst of offense when Bousquet hammered a ball home and Tavarez forced an error to maintain pace through 12-12.
 
Martellacci then sparked the crowd with a service ace that tied the set at 16-16, while a combined block from Tavarez and Place put King's briefly in front. Misericordia answered with another timely run, scoring three straight to move ahead 22-20. The Monarchs pushed back once more, as kills from Bousquet and Place cut the deficit down to a single point at 23-22, but the visitors converted the final two points to close the match, 25-22.
 
King's finished with 22 kills, 15 errors and a .089 hitting percentage. Across the net, Misericordia posted 43 kills, 19 errors and a .264 hitting percentage.
 
Place and Maskiell led the Monarch attack with six kills apiece. Maskiell dished out a team-high 13 assists while Schoch added two points from the service line. Defensively, Place and Schoch anchored the front line with four block assists each while Aiden Glasgow contributed nine digs.
 
King's returns to the court this Saturday, traveling to New York, NY to face The City College of New York and John Jay College in a tri-match. First serve in the opening match is slated for 1:00 p.m.