HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team won its first Independent Volleyball Association match of the season on Tuesday night, defeating Coker College 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-20) inside the DeLoach Center.
The Royals (2-6, 1-1 IVA) registered a season-high .320 hitting percentage as a team to go along with 12 total blocks and eight service aces. The Queens defense held Coker (2-2, 1-1) to a .133 hitting percentage and forced the Cobras to commit 32 attack errors in the match.
Coker held an early 7-4 lead in the first set before the Royals used eight unanswered points to take the lead and build a 12-7 advantage. The Royals maintained the edge throughout the set, ending the frame on a service ace from sophomore
Josh Bragg.
The second set of action saw Queens grab a quick 6-3 lead en route to hitting .480 as a team, ending the set on back-to-back kills from senior
Alexander Schinzing and sophomore
Tristan Santoyo.
After the Cobras stole the third set by a two-point margin to keep the match alive, the two sides opened the fourth set by trading points until the Royals were able to take advantage of two Coker errors and a Santoyo service ace to go ahead 7-5.
Coker tied the set at 7-all with two consecutive points and the frame would show a tie score five more times. The teams were last tied at 17-all on a Santoyo kill before the Diamond Bar, California native used a service ace to put Queens ahead for good. The Royals ended the match with double blocks from Schinzing and sophomore
Cody Nix on consecutive plays.
Santoyo led Queens with 12 kills and a .391 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs and two service aces, while fellow sophomore
Nic Cavallaro followed with 11 kills and five total blocks. Sophomore
JP Payne had a season-high eight kills and hit .467 from the middle, collecting five total blocks of his own.
Nix tallied six kills and six blocks, while Schinzing turned in a season-high 37 assists as well as five digs, four service aces, and three total blocks.
Queens continues its brief two-match road trip on Friday, Feb. 1 when the team travels down the road to local rival Belmont Abbey College for a contest at 7 p.m.
