HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team played five sets for the second straight match on Tuesday night, however, this time the Royals were outlasted 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 19-17) by the Cobras of Coker College inside the DeLoach Center.
 
The Royals fell to 5-18 overall despite matching a season-high with eight service aces and collecting 40 digs on defense. The Cobras (11-8) were able to turn in a .221 hitting percentage as a team and overcame 27 service aces to collect the home victory.
 
Queens opened the match with a strong showing in the first set, hitting .385 as a team and committing just two attack errors. The Cobras were able to respond with wins in the second and third frames, hitting a combined .242 and holding the Royals offense to a .057 hitting mark.
 
In the fourth, Coker opened with a 6-4 lead before Queens rallied to tie the match at 6-all and eventually claimed an 11-9 lead following back-to-back Cobra errors. The Royals built a lead as large as five points multiple times down the stretch, sealing the set win on consecutive kills from freshmen Tristan Santoyo and Cody Nix to force a deciding fifth set.
 
The final frame of competition saw the Cobras hit .280 as a unit, while the Royals struggled on offense and hit just -.071 as Coker used extra points to earn the regular season sweep of Queens.
 
Santoyo hit .289 and led the Royals with 16 kills and nine digs, while freshman Aleksandar Perisic totaled eight kills on a .429 hitting mark and had four total blocks.
 
Sophomore Gregory Esquivel was second on the team with nine kills and registered a team-high three service aces. Libero Conner Nagaki had nine digs on defense for Queens.
 
The Royals are back on the court tomorrow night when Queens hosts Lees-McRae College at 7 p.m. inside Curry Arena.