CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens was put to the test Sunday afternoon, facing off with Merrimack College. After dropping the first set, the Royals fought back to claim the next two but would lose the fourth and deciding set (25-22, 16-25, 20-25, 31-29, 15-13).

GAME SUMMARY
The Royals faced a 10-5 deficit early in the first set but would respond in a nice way, as a kill by Daniel Leitao helped Queens push four of the next five points and cut the deficit to two. Later in the set, Jack Brinkman would get going on both sides of the ball as he earned two of three points in a run via block assist and a kill that made the score 19-16, forcing Merrimack to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Royals remained resilient as back-to-back kills by Ananias Hayes and Fletcher Murphy cut the deficit to one, 22-21. Merrimack would ultimately hold on and take the first set, 25-22. 
 
Queens came out firing right from the start in the second set. A strong kill by Murphy in the middle sparked a three-point run that gave Queens a 5-3 lead. With the score 12-11 in favor of the Royals, a kill by Riley Mulkey was the first of five consecutive points for Queens, capped off with a kill by Ananias Hayes which would extend the lead to 17-11. Hayes' effort behind the service line earned him two aces later on and propelled them to a second-set victory.
 
After pulling ahead 4-2 early, Merrimack would fight back and pull ahead by four, 11-7. Queens, as they had all game, did not give up. A strong triple block by Hayes, Schwob, and Murphy knotted the game at 14 just before the break. A pair of kills by Hayes and Brinkman pushed the Royals to a second-set victory, 25-20.
 
The fourth set was a nail-biter that saw both teams refuse to quit. The Warriors gained an early 10-7 lead but Queens fought back with a vengeance, rattling off eight consecutive points and taking a 15-10 lead. Merrimack chipped away at the deficit and would eventually tie the game at 23. From that point, there would be three lead changes until the Warriors would pull ahead and take the hard-fought set, 31-29. 
 
In the deciding set, both team would trade points back-and-forth early on. With the set knotted at seven, Brinkman would find open court to give Queens an 8-7 lead heading into the side-switch. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Jack Brinkman earned a season-high 13 kills and served an astounding seven service aces.
• Also accomplishing his season-high in kills and aces was Ananias Hayes, who managed 12 and four, respectively. 
• Fletcher Murphy's offensive efficiency continues to shine bright, as he totaled four kills and no errors, bringing his season total to 18 kills without any hitting errors. 
• Daniel Leitao was solid all-around for the Royals as he ended the match with eight kills and team-high 14 digs.

COACH'S WORDS
"I was really disappointed with how we played at the end of the fourth set" said head coach Jeremy Price. "I'll give a lot of credit to Merrimack for how well they competed and stayed engaged in fourth set until the very end, and made us earn every point. Unfortunately, we were unable to finish off the match in the fourth set. The fifth set went down to the wire and their server placed it well at the end. Both Fletcher Murphy and Riley Mulkey were very efficient in the middle and Jack Brinkman and Ananias Hayes were outstanding serving for us".

NEXT UP
This Wednesday, January 25, Queens plays host to #1 Hawaii at 7 PM, all are encouraged to come out and support.