FLUSHING, N.Y. – Playing in front of their home crowd for the first time since August 27, the Queens College volleyball team rallied to complete a four-set non-conference victory over the visiting Cougars of Caldwell University Sunday afternoon inside Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Three Knights combined for 41 kills as senior
Alexis Deodat (Tampa Bay, FL) career-high 16 kills, sophomore
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.) 13 kills, and freshman
Kendall Conrad (Carrolltown, PA) 12 kills led the way as the Knights defeated the Cougars 3-1
(Set Scores: 26-24, 25-22, 15-25, 25-22) for their fifth win of the season.
The five wins are the most since the 2017 season when the Knights finished the year 7-17 overall.
Recap (Final Score 3-1 (Sets: 26-24, 25-22, 15-25, 25-22)
Queens started the first set on a 3-1 lead as Deodat and Conrad jumped into action early on. But both sides would exchange leads as the first set saw a total of 12 ties and five lead changes throughout the match.
With the first set tied 14-14, the Cougars went on a 7-1 run before Franco tallied three kills to stop the bleeding and cut the deficit down to 22-19.
After a kill put the visitors two points away from taking the first set, Deodat and rookie
Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) notched a 4-0 run to the first set 23-23.
As the Cougars put down another kill to take a 24-23 lead, the Knights were forced to take their last timeout before freshman
Lindsay Osterhoudt (Orlando, FL) took command as she tallied a kill and block on back-to-back plays to give the Knights 25-24 lead. Queens would take the first set 26-24 on a bad set by the Cougars setter as Queens took a 1-0 lead.
The second set would see a total of 14 ties and five lead changes as both sides answered back multiple runs of their own.
With the second set tied 13-13, Deodat and Conrad combined for a 3-0 run to take a 16-13 lead. But Caldwell continued to stay in the match as they went on a 4-0 run forcing a Queens timeout.
After a Cougars service error tied the set 20-20, sophomore
Despina Boudouris's (Athens, Greece) service ace would give the Knights the advantage and momentum they needed before Conrad tallied multiple kills as the home side closed out the second set on a 5-2 run for a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 commanding lead.
With the Knights leading 6-5 in the third set, the visitors went on an 8-0 run to take a 13-6 lead. But with the Knights hitting -0.29 for nine attacking errors, Caldwell would take the third set 25-15 to cut Queens' advantage to 2-1.
Queens began the fourth set with a 3-0 advantage before Caldwell fought back with a 10-4 run to take a 10-7 lead.
The fourth set would see six ties and two lead changes as both sides answered each other runs.
Trailing 16-13, a kill by Osterhoudt started a 6-3 run as Franco tallied multiple kills to tie the set 19-19.
After a kill by the Cougars put them ahead 20-19, Deodat and Conrad combined for three kills to help the Knights take a 22-20 advantage forcing a visitors' timeout.
The timeout would work in their favor as a kill by the Cougars trimmed the lead down to 22-21 before an attacking error by the visitors put the Knights ahead 23-21.
A substitution change by head coach
Stefan Leger to bring in rookie middle blocker
Taylor Smith (Temecula, CA) would pay dividends as a block by Smith put the Knights one point away from victory.
Deodat would close out the match as the senior tallied her 16
th kill of the match to Queens a 25-22 fourth set victory for their fifth win of the season.
Match Highlights
- Deodat notched a career-high 16 kills hitting .270 on 37 attempts.
- While Franco notched her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 17 digs and rookie Conrad tallied 12 kills in the win.
- It was career-day for Boudouris as the Greece native notched a career-high 42 digs and three service aces and two kills.
- Munn recorded her fifth straight double-digits digs with a career-high 22 digs and two service aces.
- Junior Leila Hadjeb (Queens, N.Y.) recorded a season-high 15 digs.
- Osterhoudt recorded a match-high five blocks in the victory.
UP NEXT: Head Coach
Stefan Leger and his Knights will now rest and prepare for their East Coast Conference opener as they travel to Buffalo, N.Y. with a matchup against defending ECC champions Daemen University Wildcats on Saturday (Sept. 24) afternoon. First serve is set for noon.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), Twitter (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's volleyball (qcknightsvb).
