CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team marked their first-ever win over an AVCA Top 20-ranked opponent after defeating the No. 20 Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons in a five-set battle (25-23, 23-25, 16-25, 25-23, 15-12) inside the Levine Center on Saturday afternoon.
SET BY SET
In the first set, Queens came out with a vengeance and both squads battled in a back-and-forth affair. Queens had found a small advantage midway through the frame with a kill from Stirling Sims and back-to-back kills from Chance Shampine, but the Mastodons responded with a five-point rally to knot the score at 18. After scraping point by point, Queens was able to bring it home by a silencing kill from Shaphar Grant to finish off the 25-23 win.
The scores flipped in the second set, with the Mastodons finding their way to a set win by a 25-23 decision. Much like the first set, Queens and Purdue Fort Wayne kept close scoring company until a late two-point run broke the Mastodons free for the triumph.
In the third, the Mastodons kicked up their energy and tabbed their best hitting percentage of the day with a .400 off of 16 kills on 30 attempts and four errors. The Royals could only put up three kills in the frame, falling by a score of 25-16.
The Royals' fight never wavered, though, and Jeremy Price's squad throttled their way to a win in the fourth. Queens jumped to 24-18 lead with the offensive help of Ruben Emmerich and Brinkman before Purdue Fort Wayne crawled back within a point with a slew of Mark Frazier kills — but the Royals pushed to a 25-23 victory.
In the fifth set, Purdue Fort Wayne dominated their way to a 10-4 advantage. After looking like the Mastodons had sealed the deal, the Royals allowed one more point before a monstrous six-point unanswered run tied the set at 11 all. Purdue Fort Wayne had no fight left, and the last four points of the match went the way of the Royals — including a decisive service ace from Brinkman to seal the 15-12 win.
REMARKS FROM HEAD COACH JEREMY PRICE
"We accomplished a lot of firsts," Head Coach Jeremy Price said. "I want to keep that in perspective because we hope we have many others, but this was important. That was a match between two teams who competed at a high level the past two weeks … they went in five sets their last two matches last weekend, as did we … I have the utmost respect for Rock [Ryan Perrotte] … they [Purdue Fort Wayne] are an outstanding team. We will enjoy this victory for the weekend and come Monday morning we have a quick turnaround for our next matches on Thursday and Friday."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brinkman led the Royals with a double-double including 11 kills, 14 digs, and even added five aces. The senior recorded 1,000 career-kills on his sixth kill of the night (including his one-year stint at Urbana). Within his Queens career, he currently sits with 823.
- Brinkman tabs his fourth match in a row in double-digit kills and his ninth overall in the season.
- Stirling Sims and Emmerich led the block for Queens with six apiece, while Grant added three of his own.
- Daniel Leitao put up 38 assists to lead the squad.
- Frazier led the Mastodons' offense with 22 kills and 11 digs.
- Purdue Fort Wayne barely edged the Royals in hitting percentage, outhitting Queens .264 to .240.
UP NEXT
Up next, the Royals face off MIVA foe McKendree on the road in a two-match series starting on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 7 PM.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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