FLUSHING, N.Y. – Opening a five-match East Coast Conference homestand Saturday afternoon, the Queens College women's volleyball team welcomed three-time defending ECC Champions Daemen University Wildcats to Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Faced with a huge task to begin the homestand, the Knights would drop the first set before getting into a groove as five student-athletes combined for six kills or more led by freshman
Madi Hathaway's (Edmond, OK) seventh double-double of the year with 10 kills and 13 assists as Queens earned a 3-1 comeback victory over the Wildcats.
With the win, the Knights improved to 12-5 on the year and 2-0 in ECC play. With their Saturday victory over Daemen, Queens ended an 11-match losing streak against the Wildcats earning their first victory since November 11, 2017, when the Knights earned a 3-2 victory in Flushing. Saturday's victory also ended Daemen's 37-match regular season conference win streak dating back to November 10, 2019.
MATCH RECAP vs. Daemen University (W, 3-1 | Set Scores: 9-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-21)
It would be a shaky start to the match for Queens as they quickly fell behind 4-0 before they rallied using a 6-2 run to tie the set at 6-6.
But the Wildcats would take advantage of 10 Knights' attacking errors as the visitors earned a 25-9 first set victory and a 1-0 match lead.
Needing to regroup Queens began the second set on a 6-3 advantage as the Knights used two blocks, and kills from senior
Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece) and junior
Kendall Conrad (Carrolltown, PA) for the early lead.
But the Wildcats would answer back as they tied the set at 9-9 before both sides started to trade points as the second set saw eight ties and four lead changes.
With the set tied at 15-15, a kill from rookie
Jonaida Donowa (Porter, TX) started a 10-5 run as Queens was able to build up with senior
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.), junior
Lindsay Osterhoudt (Orlando, FLA) and Hathaway combing for four kills. The Knights led by the trio Conrad, Hathaway, and Donowa would combine for three blocks as Queens tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-20 second victory.
Looking to keep their momentum going, the trio of Franco, Hathaway, and Donowa combined for three kills as Queens opened the third set with a 6-2 lead.
The Wildcats answered back with three straight points to cut Queens' advantage down to one, 6-5 before the visitors committed three errors to go with a kill from Donowa and a service ace from Hathaway helped Queens take a 11-5 lead and force a Daemen timeout.
But the Wildcats would not go away quietly as they used a 7-1 run of their own to tie the third set at 12-12.
With the set tied at 12-12, a kill from senior
Alicia Cervera (Valencia, Spain) helped Queens start a 12-5 run as the Knights took a commanding lead of 24-17 and looked to be in position of taking a 2-1 match lead.
But the Wildcats would answer right back using a 5-0 run to back within two, 24-22 before Donowa's third kill of the set sealed a 25-22 third set victory and take a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set would be an early back-and-forth affair as both sides traded the first 12 points of the set.
With the set tied at 6-6, a block from Franco and Osterhoudt started a 6-0 run with Osterhoudt recording back-to-back kills as Queens took a 12-6 lead and forced two timeouts from the visitors.
The Wildcats would slowly start to cut into Queens' lead as they took four of the next six points before a Wildcats service error combined with a service ace from Conrad and a kill from Franco gave Queens their largest lead of the fourth set with a 17-10 advantage.
But once again Daemen would go not away quietly as the visitors kept every rally alive as they used an 11-3 run and took a 21-20 advantage.
However Queens having shaken off that first set loss would ensure they would take the first meeting of this year as Franco notched her fourth kill of the set before rookie
Olivia Hyman (Forest Hills, N.Y.) at the service line took the Knights over the finish line as Queens ended the set on a 5-0 run with Hyman sealing the victory with her third ace of the afternoon to earn a 25-21 fourth set victory and a 3-1 match victory earning their 12
th victory of the year and second in ECC play.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Rookie Hathaway recorded her seventh double-double of the year with a team-high 10 kills on a hitting % of .308 to go with 13 assists, a career-best four blocks, and three service aces.
- Franco recorded seven kills, 12 digs, one block, and one assist in the victory.
- The trio of Conrad, Osterhoudt, and Donowa combined for 18 kills, 10 blocks, and three service aces digs.
- Boudouris recorded a match-high 18 assists to go with three digs, one kill, and one service ace.
- Junior Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) recorded a match-high 22 digs.
- Hyman notched six digs, three service aces, and one assist in the victory.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights continue their homestand on Sunday, Oct. 6 as they welcome the Saints of D'Youville University to town in ECC play. The 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's volleyball (qcknightsvb).
