CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team fought a tough battle with the No. 14-ranked Lewis Flyers, winning the first set 25-21 — but eventually falling in the overall match 3-1 (25-21, 11-25, 23-25, 14-25).
SET BY SET
The first set saw an aggressive Royals squad, battling neck-and-neck with the No. 14-ranked Flyers. Queens outhit the Flyers .393 to .333, snagging 16 kills compared to Lewis' 14. The Royals began to pull away towards the middle of the set when the Flyers committed three errors in a row to give Queens an 18-15 advantage. Soon, the Royals hit back-to-back kills from Matteo Falleri and Chance Shampine to get ahead by four, and the Royals maintained the four-point lead to square away the 25-21 win.
In the second set, Lewis responded with a swift .483 hitting percentage off of 15 kills, 29 attempts, and only one error. The Flyers finished off the second set by a score of 25-11.
In the third set, Queens ramped things right back up with a 15-kill performance led by the efforts of Shampine. With nine tied scores and three lead changes towards the end of the set, a kill from Daniel Leitao would grab the 22-21 Royals lead. Lewis would snag the next three points — and despite a kill from Shaphar Grant to get the Royals to 23, a final kill from Max Roquet would finalize the Lewis third set win. Queens would win the overall kill game in the third set, though, 15-to-nine.
In the fourth, Lewis jumped up quickly to an 11-4 lead. The Royals fought back to get within six (16-10), but Flyers kill leaders John David and Roquet would pave the way for the 25-14 final set win. The Flyers finished the fourth with their best hitting performance of the night with 16 kills.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Shampine led the kill effort for Queens with 15, a new career-high for the Glenview, Ill. native. Grant led in the aces and blocks categories with two and three, respectively. Leitao added in 35 assists while digging up 14 in the match.
Roquet led the Flyers with 23 overall kills, while Tyler Morgan added in a match-leading 46 assists. Davis put up six blocks in the match.
REMARKS FROM HEAD COACH JEREMY PRICE
"We did a lot right in terms of executing the scouting report, and we played at a very high level," Price said post match. "That first set was one of our most complete sets of the year. We sided out the number we needed to, and the guys we brought off the bench, Ty Hurdle, Cayden Marin, Jackson Maples, Ryan Cymbor … were all outstanding. Cymbor came in and passed two balls just perfectly at the end of the first set. I really liked the balanced and complete effort there. The second set wasn't our best outing, but we bounced back and had our chances in the third set, just weren't able to close it out."
UP NEXT
Up next, the Royals finish off the series with the #14 Lewis Flyers on Saturday, March 23 with a 2 PM start inside the Levine Center.
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.
