NEW YORK, NY (February 28, 2026) -- The King's College men's volleyball team guaranteed at least a split out of Saturday's tri-match at John Jay after sweeping The City College of New York in straight sets to open the day. The Monarchs went on to suffer a 3-0 defeat at the hands of John Jay in the next match to wrap up the day's action. The split moves the Monarchs to 6-10 overall on the season.
 
 
vs. The City College of New York, W 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18)
King's flipped the early momentum of the opening set with a decisive 6-0 run. The surge included a service ace from Ben Maskiell, a block from Logan Place and Alex Schoch, and kills from Greg Bousquet and Alex Martellacci as the Monarchs built a 6-2 lead.
 
The Beavers stopped the run briefly, but King's responded again with three and four-point bursts that featured back‑to‑back kills from Bousquet and a Martellacci finish for a 10-4 advantage. The Monarchs continued adding separation, as Schoch and Bousquet combined for a block and Brady Taylor delivered a service ace during a 5-1 stretch.
 
CCNY produced a push when they rattled off five unanswered points midway through the frame, but King's countered with clean sideouts. Mason Lesher added a service ace late in the set, and Antonio Tavarez put down a final swing to close the first set, 25-17.
 
In the second set, the Monarchs again jumped ahead early. Maskiell's serving forced immediate pressure, Bousquet scored in transition, and Tavarez added a first‑ball kill as King's built a 4-0 opening lead.
 
CCNY responded to trim the gap to 15-10 behind improved serving. The Monarchs steadied with a Tavarez kill, a block touch from Logan Aikens to slow a rally and a sideout swing from Place to interrupt the Beavers' push.
 
The Beavers narrowed the margin to one point after two late aces, but King's responded once more. Place and Bousquet came through with key kills to close the frame, 25-22.
 
In the third set, King's built an early cushion with a serving-and-scoring burst. After Aikens opened the frame with a sideout kill from Maskiell, Lesher added a service ace. Aikens then stacked three straight scoring plays  - an ace, a transition kill from Greg Bousquet, and a forced attack error - to make it 8-2.
 
CCNY stopped the slide briefly, but King's kept control through the middle of the frame. Martellacci  and Aikens both put down kills from Maskiell feeds and Martellacci struck again on a set from Taylor as the Monarchs moved through 17-12.
 
King's stretched it to 19-12 as CCNY committed consecutive attack errors before the Beavers trimmed it to 20-16. The Monarchs answered with a Tavarez kill from Taylor to steady the lead.
 
King's closed cleanly as Bousquet recorded a stuff to reach 24-17 and Brian Weaver finished the set on a kill from Maskiell to reach 25-18.
 
 
King's finished with 34 kills, 33 assists, six aces and 28 digs. Bousquet led the way with seven kills along with a solo block and two block assists. Martellacci and Place followed with five kills apiece while Maskiell dished out a match-high 19 assists. Lesher and Maskiell both put up a pair of aces and Martellacci recorded seven digs.
 
vs. John Jay, L 0-3 (23-25, 21-25, 14-25)
King's sprang out with quick connections in the opening set as Place and Schoch converted sets from Maskiell to take a 2-0 lead. The hosts answered with serve pressure and a finish to pull level, but the Monarchs stayed on task through the teens as Martellacci and Bousquet scored in system and Place added another clean swing.
 
A mid‑set exchange featured a Place point from Glasgow and steady first‑ball offense that kept the frame even. The hosts countered with a brief serving burst to tilt the margin late, but King's answered with composed passing and a timely conversion to keep contact.
 
In the closing rallies, the Monarchs forced a miss to briefly flip momentum, however the final two balls fell the hosts' way. The opener went to John Jay, 25-23.
 
Set two opened with the hosts applying pressure from the service line to edge ahead. King's responded as Place produced back‑to‑back points on sets from Taylor, Schoch finished from Maskiell and Schoch paired with Place for a block that stalled the run.
 
King's built a late push as Bousquet stacked two points and Martellacci added two more to trim the margin. The final exchanges again favored the hosts, who took the second, 25-21.
 
Set three turned on an early host run built on serve pressure and quick connections to create separation. King's answered as Place delivered an ace, then scored again on a set from Glasgow to steady the rotation, with Schoch and Martellacci chipping in to keep the deficit in range.
 
The hosts re‑established momentum with two aces in the next sequence and a finish that extended the lead. King's earned a crucial sideout behind a composed first‑ball swing, then added a defensive touch at the net to slow another rally.
 
Down the stretch, the Monarchs produced scattered conversions but couldn't break the run of service points on the other side. John Jay closed the frame, 25-14.
 
The Monarchs finished the night cap with 29 kills, 27 assists and 43 digs. Place exploded for 13 kills and the lone service ace of the match for King's. Maskiell once again led the team with 17 assists and also posted 11 digs. Martellacci led defensively with 15 digs as Place and Schoch both recorded a pair of block assists apiece.
 
 
King's returns home to the McGrane Gymnasium on Wednesday, February 4 to host Penn State Schuylkill in a non-conference contest. First serve is slated for 6:00 p.m.