ST. CHARLES, MO. — The Queens University of Charlotte men's volleyball team wrapped up its 2025 regular season with a competitive four-set loss to Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon at the Robert F. Hyland Arena. Despite a strong start and a dominant second set, the Royals dropped the match 3-1 (27-29, 25-17, 23-25, 22-25).
MATCH RECAP
The opening set was a back-and-forth thriller that featured 12 ties and four lead changes. Queens displayed an efficient offense early, with Matthew Pilch and Carson Strawbridge leading the way. Strawbridge tallied three kills in the set, and Pilch added a pair, including a point to tie things at 19-19. Chance Shampine chipped in multiple kills and even delivered a clutch service ace to level the score at 24-24. Queens actually reached set point at 25-24 after a Nathan Vaupel kill, but Lindenwood's Carter Stenmark and Cole Schuler combined for late kills, and a service ace by Jose Vargas sealed the 29-27 win.
The Royals roared back in the second set with their best offensive showing of the afternoon. Queens hit .478 in the frame, highlighted by Strawbridge's service pressure and powerful attacking from Shampine and Pilch. Shampine recorded back-to-back aces as part of a five-point run that helped the Royals jump out to a 14-8 lead.
Cayden Marin orchestrated the offense tallying 11 assists in the set. The Royals' defense also stepped up, registering four total team blocks to keep Lindenwood at bay. Queens pulled away comfortably and closed out the set on a kill by Reed Shuey.
Momentum shifted in the third set as Schuller tallied several crucial kills, and the Lions capitalized on attack errors by the Royals to take control. Still, Queens remained in contention throughout the frame. Pilch and Strawbridge delivered timely kills late to trim the deficit to 24-23, but a service error handed Lindenwood the set point, and a Shampine attack into the block ended the frame.
Queens opened the fourth set with a surge, using a service ace by Pilch to build an early 7-2 lead. However, Lindenwood responded with an 8-1 run powered by Stenmark. Despite continued efforts from Strawbridge, who led Queens with 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage, and strong defensive support from Chris Peters and Torin Stewart, the Royals couldn't hold off Lindenwood's late surge. Back-to-back kills from Owen Walsh and another clutch finish by Schuller secured the set and the match for the Lions.
MATCH RUNDOWN
POSTMATCH COMMENTS
"Tough result today, but there were some bright spots in there for us," head coach
Jeremy Price said. "
Carson Strawbridge and
Matthew Pilch were really good today and were extremely efficient... Carson hit over .500...I thought we served really well but just didn't quite get it done in the end game... hopefully we will get an opportunity to get to the conference tournament."
UP NEXT
Next, the Royals will find out their fate in the MIVA Tournament, which begins on April 19.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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