CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Following the conclusion of the 2018 regular season, the Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team will compete in the Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Championship on Friday, April 13, and Saturday, April 14, in Philippi, W. Va. on the campus of Alderson Broaddus University.
 
Queens, Alderson Broaddus, Coker College and Lincoln Memorial University make up the four-member IVA. The Battlers of ABU were the 2017 IVA Champions, winning the inaugural tournament with a 2-1 weekend record against Coker and LMU in Hartsville, S.C. a year ago.
 
The Royals have matched up against the other three schools in attendance this season, playing home-and-home series with each team and compiling a 1-5 overall record and were named the tournament's No. 4 seed.
 
Lincoln Memorial earned the tournament's No. 1 overall seed with a 5-1 record against IVA competition, while the Cobras of Coker are the No. 2 seed with a 4-2 IVA record. ABU finished with a 2-4 mark against the other three schools to secure the No. 3 seed.
 
On Friday, the IVA Championships kick off with Queens (8-19) taking the floor against Lincoln Memorial (12-14) at 4 p.m. followed by Coker (12-9) and Alderson-Broaddus (3-19) playing in the nightcap. Saturday will see both losing team's play in a bronze medal match, while the winning team's compete for the title.
 
Queens vs Alderson Broaddus (0-2)
 
The first meeting of the year between the Royals and Battlers saw ABU collect a 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12) win on its home floor in early-February.
 
Freshman Tristan Santoyo turned in 20 kills and a .357 hitting percentage to lead all players, also chipped in five total blocks, four digs and two service aces for Queens, while Jake Dube followed with 11 kills and seven digs of his own. Setter Hunter Gray paced the offense with 42 assists in his first start of the season and Conner Nagaki led the defense with 10 digs.
 
Alderson Broaddus picked up a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17) win in the Levine Center on Feb. 23 as the Royals turned in a .089 hitting percentage in a three-set loss. In comparison, the Battlers hit .261 as a unit while committing just 12 errors.
 
Another freshman, Aleksandar Perisic had 10 kills in the match, followed by eight kills from Dube and seven kills by Santoyo who played just the final two sets of action. Perisic and Dube tallied seven and six digs, respectively, as Nagaki also had six digs of his own.
 
Queens vs Coker (0-2)
 
The Royals welcomed Coker to Charlotte on January 19, only to suffer a 3-0 25-18, 25-23, 25-18 loss. Queens hit .342 as a team and had five total blocks, but the Cobras turned in a .356 hitting mark and totaled 10 service aces.
 
Queens sophomore Gregory Esquivel led the Royals with 14 kills and a .444 hitting percentage against his former team, as junior Marco Vecellio registered seven kills and five digs.
 
In the second matchup between the two schools, Coker earned a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 20-25, 19-17) win in the DeLoach Center. Queens matched a season-high with eight service aces and collected 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 just two weeks ago.
 
Santoyo hit .289 and led the Royals with 16 kills and nine digs, while Perisic totaled eight kills on a .429 hitting mark and had four total blocks. Esquivel was second on the team with nine kills and registered a team-high three service aces.
 
Queens vs Lincoln Memorial (1-1)
 
In another late-February road match, Queens fell 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-13) to Lincoln Memorial in Harrogate, Tenn. After hosting a tri-match the day before, the Royals made the long trip to Tennessee and struggled offensively, hitting -.030. The Railsplitters committed just eight errors on offense and hit .468 as a unit with eight service aces.
 
Freshman Donovan Bethel led the Queens' attack with five kills and a .300 hitting mark, as Nagaki had a match-high six digs on defense.
 
The Royals picked up a statement win during its first season of competition, defeating Lincoln Memorial University 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 15-12) on March 23 inside Curry Arena.
 
Queens totaled a season-high 52 kills and eight service aces in the match, while Lincoln Memorial committed 17 service errors and seven blocking errors at the net. The Railsplitters' aggressive style did lead to 14 total blocks on the night as they held on to their spot as the No.1 blocking team in the nation.
 
Esquivel came off the bench in the first set to spark the Royals, finishing with 12 kills and 10 digs for his second double-double of the season to go along with two service aces. Santoyo followed with 10 kills, seven digs and three service aces, while Perisic totaled eight kills with a .429 hitting percentage and five total blocks.
 
Freshman setter Jack Mitchner finished with a career-high 48 assists and six digs as Nagaki, led all players with 15 digs on defense.
 
Alderson Broaddus Sports Information will provide live coverage for each event. Fans can follow the action by clicking here