TIGERVILLE, S.C. – North Greenville defeated Queens in a five-set thrilling in their home opener for the 2018 season (25-19, 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 16-14).

The Basics

• Score: NGU – 3 / Queens – 1
• Records: NGU 1 – 1 / Queens 0-1
• Location: Tigerville, S.C. (Hayes Gymnasium)

How it Happened

• The Crusaders started off the first match of the night hitting .350 for the set. A pair of kills for Ben Hamsho gave NGU an early 4-1. Later on in the set, a kill by Jackson Gilbert gave them a 10-4 lead. The Royals were able to fight back to within two points 20-18 with a kill by Donovan Bethel, but a final attacking error by Tristan Santoyo gave NGU a 25-19 set win.
• Set two saw 5 lead changes and 14 tied scores as Queens took set two 25-22 to tie it up at two sets apiece. North Greenville was out to another 3-0 start, but Queens came back to tie it at 3. Points were exchanged back and forth until the Royals were able to go on a 3-0 run to take a 22-19 lead. NGU fought back to within one, 22-23, with a kill by Kyle Brandt. Two last attacking errors by the Crusaders gave the Royals the set win.
• For the third time in the night, NGU was off to another 3-0 start, but once again Queens came back to tie it at 6 apiece with a kill by Tristan Santoyo. After seven lead changes, the Royals went on a 3-0 run to take a 20-18 lead. A kill by Grayson Lawrence tied it up at 23-23. A block by Aleksander Perisic gave the Royals a 25-23 set win, going up two sets to one.
• In the fourth set of the night, the Crusaders took advantage of 7 serving errors by the Royals to take a 25-20 set win. Led by Ben Hamsho's tough serving, NGU took a 6-3 set lead. A block by Hamsho gave the Crusaders a 16-10 lead. The Royals fought back to within five as a kill by Donovan Bethel made the score 23-18. A kill by Aaron Campbell gave the Crusaders the set win, sending the match into a final fifth set.
• The Crusaders carried their momentum into the fifth set with a 5-2 lead with a block by Matthew McManaway and Jack Boldog. A kill by Jack Mitchner tied it up at 6 apiece. Queens serving struggles continued as two serving errors gave the Crusaders a 10-7 lead, forcing the Royals to call a timeout. A 4-0 run by the Royals tied the set up 13-13, this time forcing the Crusaders to call a timeout. Two errors by the Royals gave the Crusaders the game win.  

Inside the NGU Box Score

• Three Crusaders hit double-digit kills as Ben Hamsho and Grayson Lawrence both finished with 12-kills and Jackson Gilbert with 11-kills.
• Jake Boldog dished out 44-assists, along with three service aces and 10-digs.
• Grayson Lawrence led all players with 4-service aces.

Inside the Queens Box Score

• Gregory Esquivel led all players with 13-kills while Jack Mitchner handed out 30-assist.
• Conner Nagaki had a game-high of 15-digs.
• The Royals finished with a total of 21-service errors.

Next Time Out

• The Crusaders will travel to Nashville, TN this weekend to compete in the first ever Grow the Game Challenge. They will face Grand Canyon University on Friday at 3 pm.