CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team battled tough against No. 4 ranked Hawaii in a four-set showdown on Saturday night, eventually falling to the Rainbow Warriors in a 3-1 score (20-25, 20-25, 25-22, 20-25).

SET ONE
Hawaii and Queens traded points early in the first frame. Hawaii soon took a 9-6 lead, but Queens soon battled back with a block from Nathan Vaupel and Chance Shampine to close the gap to 10-8. Hawaii continued to apply pressure, pulling away with an Adrien Roure kill to lead 18-12. Despite a late kill from Matthew Pilch, the Rainbow Warriors closed the set at 25-20 with a point from Tread Rosenthal.

SET TWO
The Royals kept it close early, tying the set 10 times before Hawaii broke away following a service ace from Titriyski. Queens saw solid attacking from Carson Strawbridge and Reed Shuey, but Hawaii capitalized on a few Queens errors late. A kill from Titriyski sealed the second set for the Rainbow Warriors at 25-20.

SET THREE
Queens came out strong in the third set, taking a 6-3 lead with help from a kill each by Chance Shampine and Carson Strawbridge, and a service ace from Matthew Pilch. Despite a late push from Hawaii, Queens held firm, and Shampine's kill on set point secured a 25-22 win, forcing a fourth set.

SET FOUR
In the final set, Hawaii jumped to a 7-3 lead after a service ace from Titriyski. Queens kept fighting, using kills from Strawbridge and Shampine to stay within striking distance at 16-13. However, a kill by Titriyski followed by an attack error from Queens gave Hawaii a 25-20 victory, sealing the match.

ROYAL RUNDOWN

• Chance Shampine led Queens with 16 kills, hitting .297 while adding seven digs.
• Carson Strawbridge tallied 12 kills, five digs, and two blocks.
• Matthew Pilch posted 13 kills on a .345 hitting percentage with eight digs.
• Cayden Marin dished out 41 assists and added five digs.
• Queens hit .336 as a team with 52 kills, while Hawaii posted a .426 hitting percentage with 59 kills.

POSTGAME COMMENTS
"We believe we can compete with anybody in the country, and we have to believe that because our conference is loaded with a lot of ranked teams. Even beyond this week, when we have the opportunity to play the number four team in the country, I think our next five conference weekends are all against ranked teams," Head Coach Jeremy Price said. "There was great energy tonight. We obviously love having Hawaii here, and it was great to be able to just compete against a team playing at a high level. very one of our attackers played really well. Chance [Shampine] led us in kills, Carson [Strawbridge] and Matthew [Pilch] were very efficient, and the middles were really good. Cayden [Marin] did a great job running the offense — if you're hitting at a high number, your setter is probably doing a good job. I want to thank the fans and the larger volleyball community in the area for coming out, and we want you to come back. It was great energy in the building tonight, and I thought it was reflected in the higher level of play."

UP NEXT
Queens will return to action on Feb. 28 to face McKendree  inside Curry Arena. First serve is set for 6 PM ET.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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