ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Opening their second five-match road stand of the year the Queens College women's volleyball team traveled to Rockville Centre for an East Coast Conference match against the Lions of Molloy University inside Bob Houlihan Gymnasium.
Four Knights combined for seven or more kills led by rookie
Madi Hathaway (Edmond, OK) recording a match-high 13 kills on a hitting % of .579, while the trio of junior
Kendall Conrad (Carrolltown, PA), rookie
Jonaida Donowa (Porter, TX), and senior
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.) combined for 24 kills as the Knights earned a three-set sweep over the Lions.
With the win, the Knights improved to 16-6 overall and 6-1 in ECC play. Thursday's road win over the Lions helped Queens earn their first road victory in Rockville Centre and complete the series sweep over Molloy for the first time since the 2015 season.
MATCH RECAP vs. Molloy University (W, 3-0 | Set Scores: 25-17, 25-22, 25-15)
Looking to bounce after their eight-match wins streak came to a close last Saturday evening, the Knights came out firing in the first set led by junior
Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) recording four service aces, while the trio of Conrad, Hathaway, and Donowa combined for five kills as Queens took a lead of 11-1 to open the match.
But the home side would answer back with a 12-3 run as they cut Queens' advantage down to one point, 14-13.
Having their big advantage cut down to one point, Queens' offense would quickly bounce back as they responded with a 10-1 run with four Knights combing for seven kills, two blocks from Conrad and junior
Lindsay Osterhoudt (Orlando, FLA), and a service ace from senior
Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece) to extend their lead to 24-14.
The Lions would tally three straight points before Conrad's fourth kill of the set earned Queens a 1-0 match with a 25-17 first set victory.
For the second straight set, the Knights offense would continue to find the gap as they were led by the rookie duo of Hathaway and Donowa as Queens took an early lead of 8-3 to open the set.
Molloy responded with a 5-0 run to tie the set at 8-8, the lone tie of the second set before Queens went on a 5-1 run to take a 13-9 lead. Both sides would exchange the next five points as the Lions cut the Knights' advantage down to three, 15-12.
Hathaway's fourth kill of the set would start a 5-3 run as Queens extended their advantage to 20-15, but the Lions would not go away without a fight as both teams exchanged mini runs, but Queens at set point, Donowa's fourth kill of the set would earn Queens a commanding match lead of 2-0 with a 25-22 second set victory.
The third set would see six ties and one lead change as both sides exchanged the first 18 points of the set.
With the third set tied at 9-9, the Knights would make their presence felt at the net as the Lions committed six straight errors with Hathaway and Donowa combing for two blocks for a 15-9 lead.
Queens would continue to keep a lead of five points, 17-12 before a quick kill from Boudouris started a final run of 8-3 with Osterhoudt, Franco, and Conrad combing for four kills as Queens completed the three-set sweep with a 25-15 third set victory to earn their 16
th win of the year and sixth in ECC play.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Rookie Hathaway paced the Knights offense with a match-high 13 kills on a career-best hitting % of .579 to go with six assists and three blocks.
- Junior Conrad recorded nine kills, and three blocks in the victory.
- Rookie Donowa recorded eight kills on a career-best hitting % of .500 to go with three blocks and one service ace.
- Senior Franco recorded an all-round performance notching seven kills on a hitting % of .316 to go with seven digs and one block.
- Junior Osterhoudt notched four kills, a match-high four blocks, and one dig in the victory.
- Senior Boudouris recorded a match-high 30 assists, seven digs, two service aces, and one kill in the victory.
- Junior Munn notched eight digs, a match-high four service aces and three assists in the victory.
- Rookie Sophie Schonauer (Bakersfield, CA) tallied seven digs, and one kill in the victory.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights continue their five-match road stand on Saturday, Oct. 26 as they travel to West Chester, PA for a non-conference matchup against the Golden Rams of West Chester University. The first serve is set for 1:00 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).
