CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team celebrated their seniors — Jack Brinkman, Ryan Cymbor, Shaphar Grant, Daniel Leitao, Fletcher Murphy, Ty Hurdle, and Stirling Sims — in their last conference home match of the regular season, ultimately falling to Lindenwood by a 3-1 decision (28-30, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25).

In a lengthy, hard-fought first set, the Royals scored the first four points after three attack errors from Lindenwood and a kill from Matthew Pilch. The Royals momentum would push them to a six-point lead two separate times —an 8-2 lead, and then a 12-6 lead. Lindenwood did not snag a lead until the 24-23 mark. The Lions never even tied the match until it was 22-all. The squads would battle back-and-forth, point-by-point until two late points from Clay Weiter and AJ Lewis would finish off the 30-28 win.

Queens would get their vengeance in the second set - taking a 25-21 win with a .345 hitting percentage off 13 kills, 29 attempts and only three errors. The Royals would find their push later in this set, snagging the 21-19 lead off an attack error from Ian Schuller. A kill each from Leitao, Brinkman and Pilch would pace the way to a 25-21 triumph.

In the third, Lindenwood held Queens to only nine kills. Queens snagged the first point of the frame, but Lindenwood would take the next six. Lindenwood would take as large as a 12 point advantage. Despite a four-point rally from the Royals, the Lions took home a 25-16 win.

In the final set, Lindenwood would take another early lead - but Queens would tie things up at 8-8 after blocking help from Nathan Vaupel, Chance Shampine, and Pilch. The frame would jump into a back-and-forth affair before a five-point spurt including two aces would give the Lions the momentum they needed to finish out the match. The Lions would solidify the 25-20 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX

• Jack Brinkman led the match with 18 kills, while Lindenwood's Ian Schuller finished with 15.
• Ty Hurdle claimed a season-high nine digs to lead the Royals.
• The Royals out blocked the Lions, 9-to-5.
• Lindenwood outhit Queens .254 to .218.
• Royals hit .345 in the second set win, compared to Lindenwood's .243.
• Queens was held to .115 and .111 in the third and fourth sets, respectively.
• Nathan Vaupel finished with a solid six blocks in the match.
• Daniel Leitao added 33 assists to the stat line.

With Lindenwood's win, they earn the fourth seed in the MIVA Tournament. Queens, who sits at the eighth seed, will play Ball State on Saturday, April 13 in Muncie, Ind. Times of matches have not been announced.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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