GREENVILLE, TENN. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team had its five-match winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon, falling 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 26-24) to fellow Independent Volleyball Association member Lincoln Memorial University inside Mary Mars Gymnasium.
 
Queens (12-10, 4-1 IVA) suffered its first conference loss of the season despite hitting .278 in the match. Lincoln Memorial (10-8, 5-1 IVA) hit. 329 offensively and collected eight service aces in the win.
 
The Royals fell behind early in the match as they were outhit by the Railsplitters .409 to -.095 in the opening set. Lincoln Memorial carried its momentum into the second set, leading 11-7 before Queens rallied to eventually tie the set at 13-all. However, LMU weathered the storm and used seven unanswered points, including four service aces from Justin Sharfenaker, to build a 20-13 lead.
 
A 6-1 run got Queens within two points of tying the set and the Royals cut the deficit to one point three times late in the frame but a ball handling error by the Royals ended the set before they could complete the comeback.
 
Queens built an early 5-4 lead in the third set of play, and held an advantage at 14-13 following a Nic Cavallaro kill, but LMU fought back to take a 20-18 lead on a Jacob Titus service aces. The Royals battled to tie the score on three separate occasion and took a lead at 24-23 on consecutive kills from Tristan Santoyo. However, the Railsplitters sealed the home win with three straight points to complete the sweep.
 
Santoyo led all players with 17 kills and hit .314 from the right side. Cody Nix returned to the starting lineup and hit .714 in the middle with six kills and four total blocks, while Santoyo and Josh Bragg each had a team-high six digs.
 
The Royals continue their three-match road trip on Tuesday, April 6 with a conference match against Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tennessee at 5 p.m.