Box Score CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Queens returned to Curry Arena Tuesday evening for their first of three matches this week, taking on Barton. The Royals came out hot and took the first set but would quickly fall behind losing the next two. Queens' resiliency shined bright as they'd come back from down 2-1 to force and eventually win the fifth set (25-18, 20-25, 21-25, 25-13, 15-10).

MATCH SUMMARY
Queens' scrappy play put them ahead early, as Brinkman's second kill in the early going put the Royals ahead, 7-5, and forced Barton to call its first timeout of the set. Up 16-14, another kill by Brinkman sparked a three-point run that included a kill by Matthew Pilch and double block by Reed Shuey and Pilch that increased the lead to 19-14, forcing the Bulldogs to call their final timeout. Brinkman's sixth kill of the set would help Queens take the first set, 25-18. 
 
Barton came out strong in the second set, gaining an early 8-5 lead over the Royals. That lead would carry into the media timeout with the Bulldogs leading 15-11. Queens saw the largest deficit of the set grow to six but would cut it in half with three consecutive points late, with Pilch contributing a kill and a block assist in that stretch. Either team traded numerous points from there, with Barton holding on to take the second set, 25-20.
 
The Bulldogs carried the momentum into the early part of the third set, grabbing a 3-0 lead that would later grow to 10-7. Queens responded well, as a kill by Ananias Hayes and a pair by Pilch knotted the set at 10, before an ace by Brinkman gave the Royals its first lead of the set and forced a timeout on the opposing side. Barton, however, would fire right back and take six of the next seven points to re-gain the lead and force Queens to call its first timeout of the set. Both teams were even late but the Bulldogs pushed the final three points to pull ahead, 2-1. 
 
The Royals flipped the script in the fourth set, as four players registered kills early on to push a 9-4 lead and force an early Barton timeout. The momentum would continue to flow in Queens' favor, as they'd eventually push the lead to 18-9 thanks to smart hitting and scrappy defense. Barton could not maintain the Royals' attack, as they'd ultimately take the fourth set 25-13 and force a deciding set. 
 
Queens came out the gate hot in the final set, as they responded from a 2-1 deficit with seven consecutive points to take an 8-2 lead into the switch. Pilch continued his hot hitting, as he'd register three more kills in the closing points to propel the Royals to their second-consecutive victory. 

COACH'S WORDS
"It's nice to finally earn a five-set win; this was only our second five-set match of the season and we dropped the first one, so it was nice to see the guys fight back and take this one", said head coach Jeremy Price. "We made way too many errors in the second and third set with 26 combined errors between attacking and serving, so it was nice to see a cleaner fourth set and a big lead that put us over the top in the fifth."

BY THE NUMBERS

• Matthew Pilch had a strong night on the outside, leading either side with 19 kills accompanied by a .471 hitting percentage. 
• Jack Brinkman posted a solid performance on both sides, ending the match with 11 kills and eight digs. 
• Stirling Sims was solid up at the net, totaling seven blocks while contributing four kills. 
• Daniel Leitao and Brian Schwob split setting duties, combining for 55 assists and eight kills as well.

NEXT UP
Queens returns to Curry Arena on Thursday, March 30 as they play host to Alderson Broaddus at 6PM. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
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