CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team suffered it first loss of the young season on Saturday afternoon, falling by a 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 26-24, 25-16) score to Saint Francis University inside Curry Arena.
 
Facing off for the second straight day, Queens (1-1) and Saint Francis (1-2) each hit above the .200 mark on offense with the Red Flash gaining the advantage, .226 to .202. Saint Francis flexed its muscle with 11 service aces, while both sides had nine total blocks.
 
The Royals controlled the match early with a 25-21 win in the opening set, but Saint Francis rebounded to even the score with a seven-point victory in the second frame.
 
The third set of action proved to be the most tightly contested of the day as the set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. Queens led by as many as five points, 11-6, in the set before the Red Flash battled back numerous times. Saint Franics ended the set with consecutive kills from Roman Sawabinksy and Braden Richard to take the match lead.
 
Saint Francis took control of the fourth and final set early and never looked back, hitting .296 to seal the road win.
 
Senior Nic Cavallaro finished with a match-high 14 kills and hit .333 from the outside, while fellow senior JP Payne hit .462 from the middle with seven kills and five total blocks. Sophomore setter Daniel Leitao turned in 35 assists and 11 digs for his first double-double of the year.
 
Queens takes to the road for its next three matches as the team travels to the Midwest. The road trip begins on Thursday, Jan. 21 when the Royals face off against Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio at 1 p.m.