BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team rebounded from a midweek loss to tally a 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 28-26) sweep of Lees-McRae College on Saturday afternoon inside Williams Gymnasium.
 
Queens improved to 5-8 overall, winning its third match in the last four contests by hitting .284 on offense and collecting nine service aces. The Royals forced Lees-McRae (0-6) to commit 16 attack errors and took advantage 14 Bobcat service errors.
 
The Royals were in control early on, outhitting the Bobcats .381 to .091 in the opening set for a 1-0 match lead. Lees-McRae rebounded with an early lead in the second of play before an 8-2 run midway through the frame put the Royals ahead 20-15. A kill from freshman Fletcher Murphy and a solo block by Tristan Santoyo ended the set to give Queens a 2-0 lead.
 
In the third and final set, the two sides played to nine ties and six lead changes as Lees-McRae was able to rally from an early deficit to force extra points to decide the match. The Bobcats gain a late advantage twice at 25-24 and 26-25, but the Royals scored the final three points, including a service ace and kill from Santoyo.
 
Santoyo led the balanced offensive attack for Queens, finishing with nine kills, five digs and three service aces, while senior outside Nic Cavallaro hit .385 and had seven kills with five digs of his own. Murphy followed with six kills and a .500 hitting mark and sophomore sett Daniel Leitao handed out 29 assists.
 
Queens returns to play in the Independent Volleyball Association next weekend when the team welcomes Lincoln Memorial University and Tusculum University to Charlotte. First serve in Friday's match with LMU is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the Queens Sports Network.