CHARLESTON, W. VA. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team returned to action on Friday night, taking on the Golden Eagles of the University of Charleston (W. Va.). Queens kept the match close but Charleston came away with a 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-23) win inside the Wehrle Innovation Center.
 
Queens (2-11) hit .140 in the match, but the Golden Eagles (4-9) registered a .281 hitting mark and totaled 12 blocks at the net. Charleston outside Lachlan Bray led all players with 15 kills and hit .440 in the match.
 
The two sides traded points early on the opening set with Charleston building a 10-8 advantage before a JP Payne kill and Tristan Santoyo service ace quickly tied the set at 10-all. The Golden Eagles went back in front with a 4-1 run and led throughout the remainder of the frame.
 
In the second set, Queens and Charleston played to 16 total ties on the scoreboard in a back-and-forth affair. Four unanswered points, including two Santoyo kills, gave Queens a late 20-18 edge until consecutive kills helped the Golden Eagles tie the score. The two sides once again traded points down the stretch, but Charleston once again got consecutive kills to take a 2-0 match lead.
 
Queens led 7-2 to open the third set of play and remained in front by a score of 16-14 midway through the set. However, a 7-1 run for the Golden Eagles helped them overtake the visiting team.
 
The Royals battled back and eventually tied the set at 22-all on a service ace from sophomore Josh Bragg, but Charleston took advantage of two Queens errors to steal the match.
 
Santoyo led the Royals with 10 kills and hit .250 to go along with four digs and two service aces. Bragg followed with five kills and six digs, while sophomore Ruben Greenstein paced the defense with 10 digs. Payne and fellow middle Cody Nix combined for seven total blocks.
 
Queens remains in West Virginia for an Independent Volleyball Association test tomorrow against Alderson Broaddus University at 2 p.m.