LEBANON, ILL. — The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team fell to the McKendree Bobcats in a 3-0 decision (12-25, 12-25, 19-25) on Saturday, Feb. 16.
SET BY SET
In the first set, McKendree struck first with a kill from Tyler Poulsen and took advantage of a Royals service error. The Royals answered with a kill from Stirling Sims, but Kevin Schuele would come right back with a kill for the Bobcats, landing them ahead by a 3-1 score. Shaphar Grant got into the scoring action for the Royals with a kill to get within one, but three consecutive scores from the Bobcats would put them ahead, 6-2. Once they snagged a four-point lead, the Bobcats wouldn't let Queens get any closer as the McKendree squad put up 17 kills on 27 attempts while only acquiring two errors. McKendree would go on to finish off the 25-12 win.
In the second set, the Bobcats would piece together one of their best hitting performances in a set on the season thus far, putting up 25 kills on 20 attempts and committing zero errors. Queens would put up seven kills of their own in the frame, but the Bobcats would finish off the second set by another 25-12 score.
In the third, McKendree would go on an eight-point scoring run to jump ahead 12-3 before Ruben Emmerich and Grant would pace the Royals on offense. Notably, Queens would construct a four-point scoring run towards the end of the frame consisting of two kills from Jack Brinkman, a kill from Chance Shampine, and an attack error from the Bobcats to cut their deficit to three points. Despite multiple efforts led by Emmerich to keep the squad within reach, a final service ace from Nikos Xydakis would finalize the 25-19 third set score.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Emmerich led the Royals with seven kills while Brinkman and Shampine put up six and four, respectively.
- McKendree put up six blocks on the night, while Queens had none. It marked the first match this season that the Royals didn't produce a block.
- McKendree put together a .527 hitting percentage on the night against Queens' .118. Queens' best hitting performance came from the third set consisting of 10 kills on 27 attempts and four errors (.222).
REMARKS FROM HEAD COACH JEREMY PRICE
"I give a lot of credit to McKendree. They came in and outplayed and outprepared us. It was a tough lesson for us," said Head Coach Jeremy Price. "I think the best thing for us to do is put this match behind us as quickly as we can and get focused on next weekend. I thought Ruben [Emmerich] was a bright spot for us tonight … he worked really hard and led us with seven kills. I thought our libero combination of Chris [Peters] and Logan [McDonald] played solidly for us as well."
UP NEXT
Next, the Royals head back to Charlotte, N.C. to face the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes in a two-match series starting on Feb. 23. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN Plus.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to follow the Royals men's volleyball team on Instagram and Twitter/X to stay up to date on all the latest news surrounding the team. Fans are also encouraged to follow Queens Athletics to stay updated on all the Royals sports teams in action by searching @QueensAthletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
