ST. DAVIDS, PA (March 28, 2026) -- The King's College men's volleyball team pushed Eastern University in each set of Saturday afternoon's Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) contest, but fell in a three-set decision to the Eagles at The Nest. The Monarchs stayed competitive throughout the match, forcing extended openings and late pushes, but Eastern closed out the contest by scores of 26-24, 25-22, and 25-20. King's drops to 10-14 on the season with a 2-4 mark in conference play. The win boosts Eastern's overall record to 14-13 as the Eagles jump to 4-3 in the MAC.
 
Eastern opened the first set with a 4-0 run before Alex Schoch broke through with a kill to put King's on the board at 4-1. Ben Maskiell followed with a service ace, Logan Place added a kill at the net, and a pair of Eastern attack errors shifted momentum. Antonio Tavarez finished the stretch with a kill that brought the Monarchs within two, cutting the deficit to 8-6 in favor of the Eagles.
 
King's continued to answer through the middle of the frame, responding consistently to Eastern scoring opportunities. Place delivered another kill to keep the Monarchs within three at 11-8, and a few rotations later Greg Bousquet scored at the net to trim the margin again as the score moved to 14-12. Each response prevented Eastern from creating separation and kept the set closely contested.
 
The closing stretch tightened considerably. King's put together a decisive 5-0 run late in the frame to seize momentum. A service ace by Tavarez and a kill from Alex Martellacci set the stage for Tavarez to cap the run with another ace, putting the Monarchs ahead 21-20. Back-to-back kills by Place and Martellacci established a 24-22 lead for the Monarchs, but Eastern converted the final rallies to claim the opener, 26-24.
 
The second set opened evenly as both teams traded early points without creating separation. Logan Place and Bousquet provided the initial scoring for the Monarchs before Eastern built a slim edge. A Bousquet kill tied the set at 5-5 as King's matched Eastern through the opening phase, responding consistently to prevent the Eagles from building early momentum.
 
Eastern began to generate separation through the middle portion of the frame, pushing the advantage out to 13‑10. A kill by Place followed by a Mason Lesher ace pulled the Monarchs within a point of tying the set, which now stood at 13-12. Despite the response, Eastern answered again to maintain control, but King's continued to stay close as the set moved into the late stages.
 
With Eastern holding a 21‑18 advantage late, King's made another push. Logan Place delivered a kill to trim the deficit to keep the set within reach. Eastern answered to regain breathing room, but the Monarchs continued to battle with consecutive points, pulling themselves within a pair of a tie. Despite the effort, the Eagles converted in the closing rally to secure the second set, 25‑22.
 
Eastern held a slim early advantage before breaking the set open with a four‑point run that pushed the margin to 7‑2. King's responded immediately with a three‑point stretch of its own, sparked by consecutive kills by Martellacci and Bousquet to trim the deficit back to 7‑5 and halt the Eagles' momentum.
 
Eastern maintained control through the middle portion of the frame after its early surge, gradually stretching the margin as the set progressed. King's found a response behind Ben Maskiell at the service line, where back‑to‑back aces put an exclamation point on a 4-0 run and pulled the Monarchs within two at 15‑13.
 
With the Eagles holding a 21‑18 lead late, King's made another push to stay within reach. Logan Aikens delivered a service ace to cut into the margin as the set moved toward its final points. Eastern held firm and sealed the set with the final kill at 25‑20 to close the match.
 
Offensively, the Monarchs finished the match with 36 kills on 36 assists while posting a .273 team hitting percentage. Bousquet led the attack with 11 kills, while Place added nine and Martellacci contributed eight. Maskiell directed the offense throughout the contest with 30 assists.
 
Defensively, King's recorded 29 digs and four total blocks in the match. Martellacci and Maskiell shared the team lead with five digs, while Aiden Glasgow, Tavarez and Lesher all added four. At the net, Maskiell, Tavarez, Bousquet, and Schoch all contributed to the Monarchs' blocking effort.
 
King's returns to action tomorrow afternoon, traveling to Stevenson University for a MAC showdown. First serve against the Mustangs is set for 5:00 p.m.