CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens welcomed the top team in the nation Wednesday evening and put up a strong fight that kept the Rainbow Warriors on their heels. 

GAME SUMMARY
The Royals found themselves down 9-3 early in the first but fought back well. A pair of kills and a block by Riley Mulkey paired with a kill by Matthew Pilch helped Queens earn five of the next seven points, cutting the deficit to 11-8. Daniel Leitao, who had a very efficient night at the net contributed a trio of kills to help keep the score close later in the set with Hawaii holding an 18-15 advantage. Both teams battled but the Warriors would finish off the first set, 25-20. 
 
Strong play by the Royals would continued in the second set. With the set tied at four, a kill by Jack Brinkman sparked a three-point run that helped Queens pull ahead, 6-4. Hawaii would continue to battle but would not grab the lead for some time, as another four-point run, which included a kill and block by Stirling Sims, helped Queens to a 12-8 lead and forced Hawaii to call a timeout. The Warriors battled back and knotted the set at 19 before a kill by Leitao helped them pull ahead by one. Queens pushed but were unable to close out the set as Hawaii would take the lead and the ultimately set, 25-21. 
 
The third set saw Queens gain an early 5-2 lead. Much like the other sets, each team remained competitive and kept the score close, as Hawaii would take the lead back, 12-11. The Royals never gave up and managed some well-placed kills along with some big blocks, however the Warriors would go on a run that propelled them to take the match. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Efficient was one of many ways to describe how Daniel Leitao payed as he totaled 14 kills to just two errors, hitting .364 on the evening. 
• Jack Brinkman was tied for second on the team in kills with five, while adding a team-high seven digs. 
• Also adding five kills was Matthew Pilch, who added five digs and two blocks. 
• Brian Schwob had stellar hands in the match, dishing out 31 assists to total 10.33 assists per set. 

COACH'S WORDS
"I'm really pleased with how we competed tonight" said head coach Jeremy Price. "Even though the result wasn't what we wanted, we did a really nice job of embracing the moment and utilizing a very strong crowd presence to help electrify our play. I can't thank the Queens community and the volleyball community as a whole throughout the Carolinas for their support tonight. We fed off the energy in the building and played really well throughout. 

I think our serving let us down a bit but we were out-attacking and out-blocking Hawaii for most of the match, but their experience at a high level really showed as they kept us on their heels with their ball/serve placement. Daniel Leitao played a tremendous match with 14 kills and an above .300 hitting percentage, and our middles were solid and continue to serve as our backbone as they have all season. We look to build off tonight's match and compete well against two strong MIVA opponents in Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne".

NEXT UP
The Royals will hit the road and take on a pair of MIVA schools in Ball State and Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday, January 27 and Saturday, January 28, respectively. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals men's volleyball program on Instagram and Twitter 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.