FLUSHING, N.Y. – Looking to conclude their East Coast Conference homestand on a strong note Saturday evening, the Queens College women's volleyball team welcomed the Mavericks of Mercy University to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Saturday evening.
The duo of senior
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.), and junior
Kendall Conrad (Carrolltown, PA) combined for 21 kills to pace the offense but the Knights looking to force the deciding fifth set would fall in four sets to the Mavericks.
With the loss, the Knights move to 15-6 on the year and 5-1 in ECC play. Saturday's loss is the first loss in nearly a month when Queens fell in four sets to Lewis University back on September 21. The eight-match win streak is the most under fifth-year head coach
Stefan Leger's tenure and the most in a single-season single in two decades when the 2004 squad recorded a program-best 13-match win streak.
MATCH RECAP vs. Mercy University (L, 1-3 | Set Scores: 16-25, 24-26, 25-16, 21-25)
It would be a sluggish start to the match for the Knights as they committed seven attacking errors as they went on to drop the first set to the score of 25-16.
Looking to bounce back, both teams traded the first 10 points in the second set before Queens went on a 6-2 run as the duo of Franco and Conrad combined for three kills to take an 11-7 lead.
The Mavericks would record the next three points to cut Queens' advantage down to one, 11-10 before a kill from Conrad and back-to-back service aces from junior
Maya Angelova (Kyustendil, Bulgaria) put the Knights ahead 14-10.
But the visitors responded with a 7-2 run to take a 17-16 lead before both sides traded the next seven points.
With the second set tied at 20-20, two kills from rookie
Madi Hathaway (Edmond, OK) and two service aces from Franci would put Queens up 24-20 and in a position to tie the match at 1-1. But the Mavericks would withstand the Knights rally to take a commanding 2-0 lead with a 26-24 second set victory.
Needing to quickly respond and get within one, Queens opened the third set with a 5-3 advantage. But both sides would exchange the next 12 points and with the set tied at 10-10, a kill from rookie
Jonaida Donowa (Porter, TX) would start a 15-6 final run as Queens earned a 25-16 third set victory and cut their deficit down to one, 2-1.
The Mavericks opened the fourth set with a 5-3 lead before extending their lead to 14-8 as they looked to run away with the match.
Queens would attempt a late rally as they were able to cut their deficit down to three on two separate occasions, 22-19, and 23-20 but the Mavericks would earn the fourth set victory to the final score of 25-21 and a 3-1 match victory to give Queens their first ECC loss of the year.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Franco led the offense with a team-high 11 kills to go with six digs, three assists, two service aces, and one block.
- Conrad recorded 10 kills and five digs in the match.
- Hathaway and Osterhoudt combined for 16 kills in the match.
- Senior Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece) recorded 34 assists, four service aces and two kills.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights open a five-match road stand beginning on Thursday, Oct. 24 as they travel to Rockville Centre, N.Y. against the Lions of Molloy University in ECC play. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's volleyball (qcknightsvb).
