POST-MATCH INTERVIEW WITH HEAD COACH JEREMY PRICE
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team got back to it's winning ways on Thursday night, picking up a 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 16-14) victory over fellow Independent Volleyball Association member Limestone university inside Curry Arena.
The Royals improved to 2-6 overall and 1-0 in IVA play after claiming victory in the team's fifth five-set match of the season by hitting .298 on offense with a program record 70 kills in the match. Sophomore
Brandon Grabow had a career-night guiding the offense as he registered career-highs of 51 assists and 17 digs to go along with six kills and three service aces in in the win.
As have a number of sets so far this season, the first set of the night needed extra points to be decided as Limestone (2-3, 0-1 IVA) rallied from a late three-point deficit to take an early match lead despite the Royals hitting .425 in the frame.
Queens responded with victories in the second and third sets of play to take a 2-1 match advantage, hoping to break a six-match losing streak. The Saints staved off elimination by hitting over .400 in the fourth set, forcing a deciding fifth set of play.
The fifth frame opened with a 7-2 run by the Saints, putting Queens on its heels and looking for an answer. After Limestone extended its edge to 12-4, Queens took advantage of three Saints' errors to cut the deficit to just four points.
Down 14-10 with Limestone serving for match point, senior
Tristan Santoyo sparked a 6-0 for the Royals as fellow senior
JP Payne served five straight points to give Queens the come-from-behind victory on its home floor.
Santoyo led all players with 24 kills and hit .270 on the right side, while sophomore
Jack Brinkman had a career-high 18 kills and hit .432 on the outside. Payne had nine kills and a .412 hitting mark in the middle and senior
Ruben Greenstein had a season-high 11 digs from his libero position.
The Royals remain in the Queen City for their next match against King University (Tenn.) on Saturday, Feb. 6. First serve from the Levine Center is set for 2 p.m. on the Queens Sports Network.
