CHESTER, PA (March 25, 2026) -- The King's College men's volleyball team delivered a composed road performance Tuesday night, sweeping Widener University, 3‑0, in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) action at the Schwartz Center. The Monarchs opened with a commanding 25-19 first-set win before taking the second set 25-21 and closing the night out with a tight 26-24 decision. King's improves to 10‑13 overall and 2‑3 in conference play, while Widener slips to 8‑18 on the season and 1‑6 in MAC action.
 
The opening set developed evenly through the early rotations, with both teams exchanging points and neither side able to pull away. An early service ace opened the scoring before King's answered behind finishes from Logan Place and Alex Martellacci to keep the score level at 2‑2.
 
Momentum swung in the middle of the frame when the Monarchs pieced together the first of two decisive runs. After Antonio Tavarez and Ben Maskiell combined on a block to turn away an attack, Greg Bousquet stepped to the service line and delivered an ace. Tavarez followed with a kill to cap a 5‑0 burst that pushed King's in front, 9‑6.
 
The hosts briefly steadied, but King's struck again. Coming out of a stoppage, the Monarchs separated with a second 5‑0 run, highlighted by back‑to‑back service aces from Tavarez and continued pressure that forced multiple errors. The surge stretched the lead to 15‑10 and firmly shifted momentum.
 
King's protected the advantage late behind steady side‑out play. Place scored off a set from Maskiell to reach set point, and the Monarchs closed the opener, 25‑19, on a second kill by Maskiell.
 
Set two opened with longer rallies and a tighter exchange as the hosts stayed within striking distance through the opening stretch. Alex Schoch and Maskiell opened the second frame with a block before Schoch and Bousquet each finished early swings off Maskiell sets. After a kill by Luke Weaver, Schoch added a service ace to help King's maintain a narrow 8-6 edge.
 
Midway through the frame, the Monarchs began to create separation. Alex Schoch delivered a service ace to push the margin to 8‑6, and King's continued to methodically add points behind kills from Brian Weaver, Bousquet, and Maskiell. A Schoch and Bousquet block later in the stretch helped King's extend the lead to 15‑12. A Place kill followed by an attack error widened the margin to 17-12.
 
The Pride trimmed the margin late, but King's answered decisively. Tavarez and Weaver notched consecutive kills with big swings, and Place wrapped the set up with a kill of his own as the Monarchs closed the frame, 25‑21.

The third set began with immediate energy at the net. Place and Schoch combined on a block on the opening rally to give King's a 1‑0 lead, and the Monarchs added another point on the next exchange following a miscue by the hosts. After a service error cut the margin to one, Schoch finished a kill off a Maskiell set and Bousquet followed with another conversion to push the lead to 4‑2. King's kept pressure on through the rotation, capitalizing on an attack error before Maskiell scored on a swing of his own to extend the advantage to 6‑3.

Widener answered with a 4‑1 run to erase the deficit and pull even at 7‑7, tightening the set and setting the tone for a prolonged back‑and‑forth battle. From there, neither side created separation, as the teams continued to trade points and meet at every turn on the scoreboard. King's briefly edged ahead behind a Place/Schoch block at 10‑8, but the score knotted again at 11‑11 and again at 12‑12. The neck‑and‑neck exchange carried through the final stretch, with both teams siding out cleanly and matching each other point for point all the way to a 24‑24 deadlock.

The deciding sequence belonged to the Monarchs. Out of the tie, King's forced an attack error at the net to move in front, 25‑24, reaching match point. On the following rally, Place stepped to the service line and delivered an ace, sealing the 26‑24 win and completing the straight‑set sweep.
 
Place led the Monarchs with 10 kills, while Bousquet added eight. Maskiell guided the offense with 29 assists and contributed a pair of block assists and service aces. Defensively, Schoch anchored the effort with five block assists, while Martellacci contributed a team-high five digs. As a team, the Monarchs amassed 38 kills with 31 assists with a .286 hitting percentage. King's dominated the net with 12 block assists.
 
The Monarchs return to action this Saturday, hitting the road to take on Eastern University. First serve against the Eagles in the weekend MAC showdown is slated for 11:30 a.m.