CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team (3-3) opened the Men's Volleyball Classic with an impressive straight set sweep over the Barton Bulldogs (0-2) on Friday night. The straight set victory is the Royals second this season as they improved to 2-1 inside Curry Arena. Queens has now won the last two matchups with the Bulldogs after losing the first seven meetings.
 
The first set was a thriller for the limited fans that could attend as they were treated to a 27-25 Royals win. Barton jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the story of the set was the response as both units always countered and neither team could break the set open. In total, there were 10 ties in the opening set until Queens capitalized on a Jack Brinkman kill and a Bulldogs attack error to win the pivotal opener. The Royals hit .323 as a team with four service aces as Daniel Leitao led the charge early with six kills and five digs.
 
The Royals really found their rhythm in the second set as the led 6-5 early and proceeded to go on a 7-1 run and break it open to 13-6. Queens surge would be enough as they extended their lead to as much as eight and the depleted Bulldogs squad was unable to answer. In the second, the Royals hit .345 with 15 kills while holding Barton to a .138 mark.
 
Queens progressively got better as the match went on and they played their best volleyball in the third. The set opened tightly contested as both teams exchanged the first 14 points back-and-forth. Queens would catch fire and spark a 6-0 surge to open the game up to 15-9 and they never turned around sealing the set with a 25-14 victory. The Royals hit .600 in the set with 10 kills while minimizing their attack errors to one.
 
As a unit, the Royals would hit a season-best .387 with 38 kills while holding Barton to a .157 mark and 18 attack errors. Queens was outstanding at the service line recording eight aces. Daniel Leitao led the charge for the Royals notching an 11 kill and 12 dig double-double. The Portugal native adds his first double-double of the season after posting a triple-double in the season opener. Ananias Hayes and Jack Brinkman would maintain their dominance on the attack notching nine kills and seven kills, respectively. Brandon Grabow facilitated the Royals offense with a game-high 28 assists.
 
Brandon Johnston led the Bulldogs attack with a game-high 14 kills on 30 attempts. Moses Kresch would set the attack up with 25 assists.
 
Queens will return to the court for day two of the Men's Volleyball Classic tomorrow when they square off with the University of Charleston at 4:00 p.m. inside Curry Arena. The Golden Eagles picked up a straight set sweep over the Limestone Saints in the afternoon match. Be sure to follow the Royals men's volleyball program on Instagram to stay up to date on all the latest news and updates surrounding the team. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics on social media @QueensAthletics to follow all of the Royals sports in action.
 
Day One
4:00 PM - Charleston 3 | Limestone 0
7:00 PM - Queens 3 | Barton 0
Day Two
1:00 PM - Barton vs. Limestone
4:00 PM - Charleston vs. Queens