The Queens College volleyball team evened its conference record at 2-2 with a three-set sweep of Mercy College on Alumni Day from Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Saturday.  The scores in the sets were 25-16, 25-10 and 25-19.

The opening set began with the two sides trading the first five contested points.  From there, the Knights rattled off an 8-4 run to grab a 13-9 lead behind the strong serves of Xhesi Domi (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) and Else Buchmiller (Sacramento, Calif. /Christian Brothers).

Queens had another four point swing from there as an Arielle DiCoco (Bluepoint, N.Y./Bayport-Bluepoint) kill put the Knights ahead of the Mavericks 20-12.  The Knights closed out the set when Bianca Steele (Massapequa, N.Y./Holy Trinity) and Suzanne Byrne (Richmond, B.C. /St. Patrick's) recorded block assists on the final point.

The second stanza opened with Queens jumping out to a 14-2 advantage behind the strong serving of Byrne and Steele.  The largest lead of the set, and, coincidentally, the match, come when a serve from Ceren Kilic (Istanbul, Turkey/Yuzyil Isil) led to an attack error by Brenna White that gave the Knights a 20-5 advantage.

Similarly to the opening frame, the third set began with both sides sharing the ten points of play, evening the score at 5-5.  Queens then used a 7-2 swing to jump out to a 12-7 lead, with the twelfth point coming on a Buchmiller service ace.  A kill from Steele brought the set to 19-10, giving the Knights their largest lead of the set.  The matchup was concluded when Debbie Okeke (Smyrna, Ga. /Campbell) ripped a kill into the Mavericks' end the contest.

DiCoco collected a game-high 10 kills, while Kilic was tops with 22 assists with Byrne leading the team with nine digs.

The Queens College volleyball team returns to action on Tuesday, October 2, when it faces Dowling College in an ECC game from Oakdale, New York.  The start time is 7:00 PM.