CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2020 season on Thursday night, defeating crosstown rival Belmont Abbey 3-1 (28-26, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23) inside Curry Arena.
 
The Royals (1-2) were fueled by a season-high 16-kill, 5-dig, 4-block performance by junior Tristan Santoyo who hit .297 from the outside. Queens tallied seven service aces on the night, including five from junior Cody Nix, and the defense held Belmont Abbey's (1-3) Liam Maxwell to just nine kills. Maxwell ranked among the NCAA's Top 5 in kills per set a year ago.
 
The opening set featured four ties early on before the Royals gained their first lead at 12-11on a kill from junior JP Payne. The scoreboard showed 10 more ties as a Liam Maxwell kill gave the Crusaders set point. Queens fought of two set points before closing the frame on a kill from Santoyo.
 
Queens was in control throughout the second set of play, leading by as much as a nine-point margin at 17-9. Belmont Abbey cut the deficit to four points twice down the stretch but a service error put the Royals ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
After Belmont Abbey hit .464 to win the third set, the Royals opened the fourth frame on a 6-2 run to force a Crusader timeout. Queens led by four, 16-12, before the Crusaders even the score at 16-all with four unanswered points. The set featured five late ties on the scoreboard until Queens once again benefitted from a Belmont Abbey service error to seal the match decision.
 
Junior Nic Cavallaro was second on the team with nine kills and had a team-high 11 digs, while freshman Brandon Grabow guided the offense with 29 assists to go along with two service aces. Nix led the defense with six total blocks.
 
The Royals remain in the Queen City for their next game on Friday, January 17 against Lees-McRae College at 7 p.m.