Ty Hurdle and his Queens University of Charlotte Men's Volleyball team opened the 2021 season in thrilling fashion, taking down Saint Francis University 3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 15-5) inside Curry Arena.
Senior Nic Cavallaro led the charge with a match-high 15 kills and a .278 hitting mark on the outside to go along with eight digs and four service aces. Fellow senior Tristan Santoyo followed with 11 kills, nine digs, and two service aces of his own.
The opening set was tightly contested throughout before Saint Francis ended the frame on a 3-0 run to take an early match lead. Queens responded with a strong second set, hitting .294 and holding SFU to a .100 hitting performance to even the match score.
Queens and Saint Francis traded wins in the third and fourth sets of action, leading to a decisive fifth set of play. The final set was in Queens' favor from start to finish as they hit .545 in the frame in comparison to a -.308 performance by the Saint Francis offense.
Sophomore setter Brandon Grabow guided the Queens offense with 38 assists and freshman middle Fletcher Murphy made a statement in his collegiate debut, hitting .750 with six kills. Defensively, senior middle JP Payne registered seven total blocks, while sophomore libero Guillermo Jordan led the way with 10 digs.
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