CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens was back home for their second match in three days, facing off with NJIT. The offense came out the gate firing on all cylinders and were able to maintain strong consistency throughout, as the Royals were able to take down the Highlanders in straight sets (25-18, 25-15, 25-23).

MATCH SUMMARY
Queens began the match on a hot streak that saw them take an early 7-2 lead, thanks in part to strong serving and offensive play by Daniel Leitao who earned two early kills while serving four consecutive points. Up 13-10, Queens pushed five of the next seven points to take a 19-12 lead and force NJIT to call its first timeout of the set. Matthew Pilch would find open court five more times, including on set point, to propel the Royals to a 25-18 set victory.
 
Stirling Sims connected on a pair of well-placed kills early in the second set to help keep Queens' momentum, as the Highlanders called an early timeout after falling behind, 6-3. The Royals continued to fire away out of the timeout, taking seven of the next 10 points, five of which came via either a block or an ace. Pilch's ninth kill of the match helped clinch the second set, 25-15.

The Royals faced their first deficit of the match in the third set, trailing 6-4 early on. NJIT were able to keep Queens at bay and maintain a lead into the media timeout, 15-14. The Highlanders pushed the lead to 20-17, but a solo block by Brian Schwob sparked a run that saw Queens take four of the next five and knot the score at 21, forcing a timeout on the opposing side. A pair of kills by Brinkman helped push Queens to match point at 24-23, before an attack error by NJIT clinched the sweep. 
 
COACH'S WORDS
"That's a really important win for our program; being able to measure ourselves as an independent program against teams in the major conferences is huge. To side out at 80% in the match and be as efficient as we were offensively was what helped us out tonight. I thought Brian Schwob did a nice job running the offense, and our pin attackers were outstanding offensively. The touches our middles created and the effort they gave tonight in transition were great to see. I also thought Guillermo Jordan played his best match of the year."

BY THE NUMBERS

• Matthew Pilch was incredibly efficient on the evening, tied for the team lead in kills with 12 while not gathering any attack errors, garnering a .522 hitting percentage. He also served up two aces. 
• Jack Brinkman managed 12 kills of his own, adding a block in the process. 
• Guillermo Jordan's defense helped Queens stay in many long rallies, snagging match-high 13 digs.
• Brian Schwob did a nice job of distributing the ball, dishing out 33 assists while grabbing six digs as well.

 
NEXT UP
Queens will enjoy a week off then return home on Friday, March 24 as they host Lincoln Memorial. 

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.