WILKES-BARRE, PA (April 2, 2026) -- The King's College men's volleyball team closed out the 2026 season on Thursday afternoon at home, falling to Wilkes University 3-1 in a nonconference matchup inside McGrane Gymnasium. The Monarchs showed resilience throughout the afternoon and claimed the opening set 25-20, but the Colonels responded by taking the final three frames to secure a 3‑1 victory by scores of 25‑23, 25‑18, and 25‑22. The Monarchs close the year at 10-17, while the Colonels wrap things up with a 13-15 record.
 
Wilkes opened the match by establishing a 3-1 lead behind aggressive play at the net, but King's answered quickly. Ben Maskiell put the Monarchs back within one with a kill off a feed from Alex Schoch, halting the early push. The Colonels continued to find success with several finishes at the net, but Greg Bousquet responded with a hammer to the floor that cut the deficit to two at 6-4 and kept King's within reach in the early stages.
 
Wilkes extended the margin to 11-6 before the Monarchs made their move. King's rattled off five consecutive points, sparked by timely kills from Logan Place, Bousquet, and Schoch, while Maskiell applied pressure from the service line with a pair of aces to knot the set at 11-11. The frame tightened considerably from there, with both teams trading sideouts until a kill from Logan Aikens followed by a service ace from Alex Martellacci gave King's a narrow 17-16 advantage.
 
The Monarchs carried that momentum into the closing stretch. King's put together a decisive 7-1 run to build a five-point cushion and reach set point, taking control of the frame. One play later, Place finished off the rally with a kill to seal a 25-20 victory for King's in the opening set.
 
The second set featured a stretch of closely contested play early as King's had an answer for nearly every Colonel point. Kills by Bousquet and another finish from Schoch helped the Monarchs carve out an early 4-3 lead. King's kept the pressure on, forcing multiple Wilkes errors and pairing Aikens and Maskiell on a block before an Aikens kill off a feed from Maskiell helped extend the advantage to 9-7.
 
Wilkes responded with a surge of its own, using a 5-2 run to flip the advantage to the visitors at 12-11. Bousquet answered immediately with a kill to tie the frame at 12-12, setting the stage for an extended stretch where neither team could create comfortable separation. The set remained tightly contested deep into the later points before Wilkes began to pull away and took a 23-19 edge. King's refused to let the set slip away, capitalizing on several Colonel errors and another Bousquet kill to rally back and square the score at 23-23. Wilkes responded with consecutive points, however, to close out the set 25-23 and even the match at 1-1.
 
Neither side was able to create early separation in the third set as both teams answered one another through the opening exchanges. A trio of kills by Place helped King's establish a narrow 3-2 advantage, but Wilkes responded with a decisive 5-0 run to take a four-point lead that the Colonels would not relinquish the rest of the frame.
 
The Monarchs continued to battle, finding offense through three kills from Bousquet along with additional finishes from Weaver, Aikens, and Place, but Wilkes maintained control down the stretch and claimed the third set by a score of 25-18.
 
Looking to close out the match, Wilkes set the tone early in the fourth frame with a 5-1 run. King's stemmed the momentum when Schoch put away a kill to pull the hosts back within a pair, and continued pressure at the net followed. Spikes by Martellacci, Place, and Maskiell kept the Monarchs within striking distance as the deficit was trimmed to 9-8.
 
Wilkes answered with another push, using a 6-2 stretch to expand the advantage to five through the middle portion of the set. King's refused to fade, responding with back-to-back kills from the veteran group as Maskiell set up Martellacci and Bousquet to cut the margin to two and keep the frame competitive.
 
After a brief Wilkes response, the Monarchs delivered one of their strongest surges of the night. King's rattled off six straight points behind two kills from Place while Maskiell and Aikens tacked on two more finishes to pull even at 20-20. Despite the effort, the Colonels regrouped and closed the set at 25-22, securing the match by a 3-1 decision.
 
King's finished the match with 41 kills on 40 assists while hitting .195 as a team. Bousquet led the Monarchs with 14 kills, while Place followed with 11 and Aikens added five. Maskiell directed the offense throughout the afternoon, recording 32 assists and adding four kills and two service aces.
 
On the defensive side, King's totaled 45 digs and 10 total blocks. Aiden Glasgow anchored the back row with 15 digs, while Maskiell added eight and Martellacci chipped in six. At the net, Aikens paced the Monarchs with two solo blocks, while Schoch posted a team‑high four block assists.