GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University men's volleyball team fell in a closely-contested Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) match against Queens University of Charlotte on Saturday (Feb. 12) afternoon.

The Royals (6-5, 2-1 IVA) won by scores of 25-20, 25-19, 25-23 to defeat the Pioneers (1-7, 1-2 IVA).

Daniel Leitao finished with a match-high 13 kills on a fiery .500 clip. Fletcher Murphy tallied eight kills on a .429 hitting percentage. Brandon Grabow handed out 29 assists, while Jack Brinkman notched a match-best four service aces. Brinkman added six digs, just ahead of Grabow's four. Two Royals are credited with four total blocks: Leitao (one solo, three assists) and Murphy (four assists).

Jake Whyte was the lone Pioneer to finish with double-digit kills, followed by Dane Loup with seven. Shaun Kampshoff dished out 21 assists to steer the offense. He also scooped up a match-best seven digs, beating out six by Loup. Shaphar Grant led TU in aces (2) and blocks (4). Deklan Wingo also assisted in three stuffs.

Queens ended the match with a .221 hitting percentage with 38 kills and 19 attack errors on 86 total attempts. Tusculum totaled 27 kills, 16 errors, and 71 swings for a .155 hitting percentage. The Royals led the match in aces (8-4) and assists (32-25), while the Pioneers held the dig (25-21) and total block (9-8) advantage.

Tusculum wraps up its home stand with a visit from first-year program Fort Valley St. on Friday (Feb. 18) at 7 p.m.