Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens men's volleyball returned home for the first time in over two weeks, kicking off a seven-game home stretch with a matchup against St. Francis (PA). The Royals gave the Red Flash everything they had, but were unable to walk away with a win, falling in four sets (25-19, 24-26, 26-24, 25-18).

Queens came out the gate hot as a kill and an ace by Matthew Pilch helped claim an early 5-1 lead and forced St. Francis to call an early timeout. Out of the timeout, the Red Flash pushed back hard, tying and eventually taking a 14-10 lead, forcing the Royals to call their first timeout of the set. Both teams remained neck and neck, but SFU held onto their lead for the remainder of the set, taking it 25-19.

A well-placed serve by Brian Schwob gave Queens an early 7-4 lead in the second set. The back-and-forth rallies kept the match exciting and close as Queens carried the lead into the break, 15-14. After taking a 21-20 lead, the Red Flash pushed two points that helped them re-claim the lead and forced Queens to call a timeout to re-group. Down 24-23 and facing set point, the Royals caused two errors by St. Francis to flip the script and stare at set point themselves. On the proceeding point, Stirling Sims put up a solo block that claimed a 26-24 set victory to knot the match at one. 
 
The Royals took advantage of SFU's sloppy play early, as four of their first six points came from opponent errors. Brinkman kept the hot hand as a pair of kills helped Queens take a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. Down 18-17, a kill by Daniel Leitao sparked a run that saw Queens take four of the next six points and force a timeout by the Red Flash as they held a 21-20 lead. St. Francis used late momentum to take six of the nine final points and claim a 2-1 set lead.
 
SFU carried the momentum into the fourth set as they'd find themselves ahead 12-6 and force Queens to call their first timeout. The Royals continued to fight and earn points, but the Red Flash found their groove and were able to take the fourth set and ultimately the match.
  
BY THE NUMBERS

• Jack Brinkman led the team offensively, concluding the match with 13 kills. He finished the match with a double-double, also tallying 11 digs.
• Brian Schwob dished out 30 assists in the match, contributing seven digs and a solo block as well.
• Matthew Pilch also managed double-digit kills with 10.
• Daniel Leitao finsihed the match with team-high 12 digs, adding eight kills in the process. 

 
NEXT UP
Queens returns home on Friday, March 17 for a St. Patty's day matchup against NJIT at 5PM.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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