The Queens College volleyball team lost to UDC in four tough sets in a match played at Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Tuesday night.  The scores of the sets were 25-27, 26-24, 15-25, 19-25.  The Knights players wore pink in the game as part of their 'Dig Pink' initiative, which brings awareness to the battle against breast cancer.

The opening set began with both sides sharing the lead eight times.  With the score knotted at 14-14, UDC ran off four of the next five points to grab a slim, 18-15 lead.  The three point cushion would be their largest of the set.

From there, the Knights responded with four of the next five points to even the score at 19-all.  In that run, Suzanne Byrne (Richmond, B.C./St. Patrick's) and Debbie Okeke (Smyrna, Ga./Campbell) each registered kills while the strong serving of Else Buchmiller (Sacramento, Calif./Christian Brothers) forced a pair of Firebirds errors.

The two combatants would share the lead four more times to get the score to 25-all in the first set.  UDC scored the next two points to capture the opening frame.

The second stanza saw Queens jump out to the early 9-5 lead behind the strong serving of Byrne and three kills from Arielle DiCocco (Blue Point, N.Y./Bayport-Blueport).  From there, UDC answered with a 9-5 run, bringing the score level at 14-14.

QC scored four of the next five to lead 18-15 as DiCocco and Rita Romeo (Glen Oaks, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) used a strong serve to force several UDC errors.  The two sides would be even again at 24-all, but a pair of serves from Romeo led to attack errors for the Firebirds, and AC won the second set, 26-24.

The third set saw UDC jump out to a 10-point lead, at 15-5.  The Knights fought back and closed the gap to as little as seven points, but UDC took the third set 25-15.

The fourth and final set saw the Firebirds nab a 6-2 lead early.  Queens rattled off a 5-3 run to pull within two points, at 9-7, but the Knights would not close the deficit anymore as UDC went on to capture the fourth set, 25-19.

The Knights return to action on Saturday, October 27, when they travel to Bridgeport, Connecticut to face the University of Bridgeport.  The match with the Purple Knights is slated to begin at 2:00 PM.