CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team concluded its 2018 regular season with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-20) loss to University of Charleston (W. Va.) on Tuesday night inside Curry Arena.
 
The Royals fell to 8-19 overall after hitting just .096 as a team but did collect 35 digs on defense. Charleston, a member of the EIVA, hit .267 as an offense to improve to 15-9 on the season.
 
Queens held an early 5-4 lead in the first set of play as the opening frame saw three lead changes and 11 total ties on the scoreboard. Charleston hit in the negative for much of the set before ending on a 6-3 run to steal the set win.
 
Following another early Queens lead at 7-6, the Golden Eagles scored 10 of the set's next 14 points to build a six-point lead. The Royals struggled on offense in the set, leading to a nine-point win to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
For the third consecutive set the Royals opened up with an early advantage, using two kills from freshman Nic Cavallaro and another from junior Marco Vecellio to claim a 6-4 lead.
 
However, Charleston used a 4-0 run to turn the tide, building a lead as large as six point at 21-15. The Royals and Golden Eagles traded points down the stretch, but the deficit was too much for Queens to overcome.
 
Cavallaro led the Royals' attack with nine kills, followed by six kills from fellow freshman Aleksandar Perisic.
 
Freshman Tristan Santoyo registered a match-high eight digs on defense, while two more first-year college players in Ruben Greenstein and Jack Mitchner had six and seven digs, respectively.
 
The Royals remain in action this weekend as they begin postseason play in the IVA Championships host by Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, W. Va. Queens, the tournament's No. 4 seed, will take the court against No. 1seed Lincoln Memorial University in the opening match on Friday, April 13, at 4 p.m.