CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens men's volleyball enjoyed an exciting senior day ceremony prior to their Saturday matinee against Tusculum. Queens fired away on all cylinders and cut a huge deficit to earn a four-set victory over the Pioneers (25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 27-25)

MATCH SUMMARY
Matthew Pilch and Jack Brinkman got going early for the Royals in the first set, as they had kills on seven of Queens' first 14 points with Tusculum taking a 15-14 lead into the first media timeout. Pilch managed his fifth kill of the set out of the break, followed by three consecutive attack errors by the Pioneer which put Queens on top and forced Tusculum to call its first timeout of the set. The set remained close but a pair of late kills by Brinkman helped push the score to set point, before an ace by Pilch put Queens ahead, 1-0. 
 
The second set found itself knotted at three early, before an astounding eight-point run by the Royals, which included two kills and a block by Ananias Hayes, along with a pair of kills by Brinkman gave Queens a comfortable 11-3 lead, forcing Tusculum to call its first timeout in the midst. A trio of kills by Pilch and another pair by Stirling Sims and Brinkman helped propel Queens to a commanding second-set victory, 25-18. 
 
Queens carried the momentum into the third set, as a kill and a block on back-to-back points by Hayes sparked a four-point run that put them ahead, 11-7. Out of the media timeout, Tusculum began to aggressively chip away at the deficit. Down 21-18 late, the Pioneers would take six of the next eight points which gave them set point at 24-23, before an attack error gave them their first set victory of the afternoon.
 
The Royals took a 5-2 lead early on, but Tusculum pushed back hard and took the next seven points to claim a 9-5 lead. Queens refused to give up, taking seven of the next 10 and knotted the set at 11, but would trail 15-12 heading into the media timeout. The Pioneers would back Queens into a corner with a late push that saw them take set point at 24-18. After a kill by Sterling Sims made the score 24-19, Daniel Leitao came in as a late sub to take over serving duties. Back-to-back kills by Sims and Brinkman cut the deficit to three, before a block by Sims and Pilch cut it to two. The Royals continued to fight back with a vengeance, as a kill by Pilch and a big solo block by Brian Schwob helped Queens complete the comeback and knot the set at 24, followed by a kill by Schwob which put Queens in the driver's seat. Tusculum ended the strong run by knotting the set at 25, but a service error by Tusculum gave Queens a second match point, before an attack error would clinch the match for the Royals. 

COACH'S WORDS
"We played a good first two sets and were in control for most of the third set, but Tusculum deserves a lot of credit for their serving and the way they fought back to take the third set" said head coach Jeremy Price. "We were on our heels for most of the fourth set and Tusculum had us on the ropes, but Daniel Leitao going on a gritty serving run and giving us the lead off the bench was awesome and I'm happy with the result".

BY THE NUMBERS

• Matthew Pilch had an efficient game from the outside, leading the team in kills with 18, hitting .394 on the afternoon.
• Brian Schwob dished out 34 assists on the evening, adding nine digs and two kills in the process. 
• Ananias Hayes led the defensive effort with match-high 10 digs. 
• Jack Brinkman also had a strong game offensively, putting away 14 kills and picking up seven digs.

NEXT UP
Queens returns to Curry Arena on Tuesday, March 28 as they play host to Barton at 6PM. 

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.