Charleston, W.Va. – The Golden Eagles opened the 2024 season with a victory sweep over the Royals of Queens University of Charlotte.
 
The Basics:
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center
Score: UC 3, QU 0
Records: UC 1-0 (0-0 EIVA), Queens 0-3 (0-0 MIVA)
 
How it Happened:
The Golden Eagles opened their season with a close first set victory (25-23) over the Royals of Queens University of Charlotte on Friday evening. The first set was back and forth with both teams trading side outs until Charleston eventually closed out the set with a Garret Schnitker kill. In the set, Charleston tallied fifteen kills on thirty-one attempts, six of those kills coming from outside hitter Jesse Delancy.
 
In the second set, Charleston jumped out to a seven-point advantage early in the set, led by five kills from opposite hitter Garret Schnitker. The Royals cut the deficit to four, but the Golden Eagles quickly began to pull away again, leading 18-12 at one point. Charleston went on to win the set 25-17 with a fitting Schnitker kill to seal the deal.
 
The third set was quite the opposite, Queens going on a seven-point run to take an 11-3 advantage after forcing six Charleston errors in the early stages of the set. The Royals went on the maintain a seven-point lead, 17-10, until the Golden Eagles scored five consecutive points with back-to-back-to-back kills to bring the score to 17-15. From there, Queens once again pulled away, 21-16 after a pair of kills, but Charleston answered right back. The Golden Eagles tallied the next seven points to take the 23-21 advantage, and after several traded side outs, Garret Schniter closed the door on the Royals as with a final kill to take the set 27-25.
 
With the sweep, Charleston opens the 2024 season atop the win column. The Golden Eagle offense was led by Garret Schnitker and Jesse Delancy with fifteen kills apiece, and Cole Duncanson who posted a .833 hitting percentage in the match.