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Sunday, April 18, 2021
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Hurdle & Queens Fall in IVA Championship Final
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Ty Hurdle and his second-seeded Queens University of Charlotte Men's Volleyball teammates ended its 2021 season with a runner-up finish in the 2021 IVA Championships inside Curry Arena. Queens suffered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) loss to top-seeded Lincoln Memorial University, which won its third straight tournament title.
For Queens, the second-place finish was their second in as many tournaments. Lincoln Memorial hit .354 on offense in the win while Queens hit .244 as a unit despite nine total Lincoln Memorial blocks.
The opening set of play was all offense as both sides hit above .340. The game featured 13 ties on the scoreboard and three lead changes as Queens held an advantage of 22-21 late in the set on a kill from Tristan Santoyo. Lincoln Memorial rallied, scoring four of the final five points, ending the set on back-to-back kills from Jacob Titus to take the early match lead.
In the second, Lincoln Memorial outhit Queens .444 to .226 for a 2-0 match lead. The third set of action was once again a back-and-forth affair with the two teams tying the score on seven separate occasions. Queens battled back from a 5-2 deficit to even the score at 10-all on consecutive kills from Josh Bragg and Brandon Grabow, however, Lincoln Memorial used a 4-0 run to regain the lead.
Queens continued to keep it close, tying the score once more at 17-all with three unanswered points, Queens and Lincoln Memorial traded points down the stretch as a Nic Cavallaro kill kept the score even at 21-21 before Titus and Johansen Negron recorded consecutive kills to give Lincoln Memorial breathing room. Negron ended the match with his 16th kill of the day and gave Lincoln Memorial the title.
Negron was named the 2021 IVA Championships Most Outstanding Player after totaling 23 kills (3.83/set), 15 digs (2.5/set), and three service aces while hitting .500 on the outside. Lincoln Memorial teammates Pedro Carvalho, AJ Risavy, and Justin Sharfenaker joined Negron on the All-Tournament Team.
For Queens, Bragg, Santoyo, and Stirling Sims each earned a place on the All-Tournament Team. Santoyo led Queens' offense in the finale with 13 kills, while Sims hit .455 in the middle and had three total blocks. Grabow paced the offense with 34 assists and Cavallaro led the defense with seven digs.
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Saturday, April 17, 2021
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Hurdle's Queens Advance to Independent Championship
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Ty Hurdle’s Queens University of Charlotte Men's Volleyball teammates opened postseason play with a 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-22) sweep of Limestone University in the Independent Volleyball Association Championship Semi-Finals inside Curry Arena.
Queens, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, hit .225 in the match while holding Limestone, the third-overall seed, to a .137 hitting mark in the victory.
After the opening set went to extra points, Queens outhit Limestone .294 to .071 in the second set to take a 2-0 match lead. In the third, Queens led 7-3 following a kill from Nic Cavallaro before Limestone rallied for three unanswered point to cut the deficit to just one point.
Back-to-back unforced errors by Limestone put Queens back ahead by three as Limestone was unable to get any closer than a two-point deficit until they trailed 18-17 late in the frame. Queens scored seven of the next 12 points, ending the match on a kill from Stirling Sims to advance to the finals.
Sims hit .818 in the match with nine kills from the middle, while Josh Bragg led Queens with 11 kills and nine digs from the outside. JP Payne, the 2021 OTB Independent Teams Player of the Year, finished with six kills and .308 hitting mark and setter Daniel Leitao registered 39 assists and eight digs.
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Friday, April 09, 2021
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Hurdle & Queens Fall to Limestone
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The 2020-21 regular season came to a close for Ty Hurdle and his Queens University of Charlotte Men's Volleyball teammates on Friday night with a 3-2 (27-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-25, 15-11) loss to fellow IVA member Limestone University on the road.
Limestone outhit Queens .265 to .207 in the match and totaled 13.5 blocks at the net. Queens did total of seven service aces in the loss.
After Limestone won the first two sets, including a .348 hitting performance in the second frame, Queens responded with back-to-back wins in the third and fourth to force a deciding fifth set of play. Queens were dominant in the fourth, hitting .435 as a team to extend the match.
In the fifth, Limestone held Queens to .000 hitting behind four total blocks to seal the win on their home floor.
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Tuesday, April 06, 2021
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Hurdle & Queens Pick Up Win Against Tusculum
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 Hurdle #12 Celebrates a Point IslandStats.com
Queens hit .322 as a team, recording a hitting performance above .300 for the fifth time this season, and tallied 59 kills, the team's fifth-highest total of the year. Tusculum did record nine total blocks in the loss but was unable to put swings down against Queens stout back row.
Queens hit an astounding .600 in the opening set, committing just one attack error on 30 swings leading to a 1-0 match lead. Tusculum University responded with a win of their own in the second set to even the match score and avoid a sweep.
The third set of action featured a .300 hitting performance from both sides and needed extra points to be decided as Queens survived a late Tusculum rally to retake the match lead. Queens put the match away in the fourth and final frame, outhitting Tusculum .300 to .000 to earn the victory.
Josh Bragg led all players with a career-high 19 kills and hit .607 with 11 digs, while Tristan Santoyo followed with 13 kills on the right side. JP Payne chipped in 10 kills and a .467 hitting mark from the middle and setter Daniel Leitao finished with 42 assists.
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Saturday, March 27, 2021
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Hurdle’s Queens Winning Streak Snapped
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 Hurdle wearing number 12 IslandStats.com
Queens suffered its first conference loss of the season despite hitting .278 in the match. Lincoln Memorial hit. 329 offensively and collected eight service aces in the win.
Queens fell behind early in the match as they were outhit by Lincoln Memorial.409 to -.095 in the opening set. Lincoln Memorial carried its momentum into the second set, leading 11-7 before Queens rallied to eventually tie the set at 13-all. However, Lincoln Memorial weathered the storm and used seven unanswered points, including four service aces from Justin Sharfenaker, to build a 20-13 lead.
A 6-1 run got Queens within two points of tying the set and the Royals cut the deficit to one point three times late in the frame but a ball handling error by Queens ended the set before they could complete the comeback.
Queens built an early 5-4 lead in the third set of play and held an advantage at 14-13 following a Nic Cavallaro kill, but Lincoln Memorial fought back to take a 20-18 lead on a Jacob Titus service aces. Queens battled to tie the score on three separate occasions and took a lead at 24-23 on consecutive kills from Tristan Santoyo. However, Lincoln Memorial sealed the home win with three straight points to complete the sweep.
Santoyo led all players with 17 kills and hit .314 from the right side. Cody Nix returned to the starting lineup and hit .714 in the middle with six kills and four total blocks, while Santoyo and Josh Bragg each had a team-high six digs.
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