GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Opening a tough three-match week the Queens College women's volleyball team matched up against the Panthers of Adelphi University inside the Center for Recreation and Sport for a non-conference title Tuesday evening.
In a match that had potential for a five-setter, the Knights battled hard but ultimately fell short as the Panthers earned a four-set victory over Queens.
With the loss, the Knights move to 7-3 overall on the year.
MATCH RECAP vs. Adelphi (L, 1-3 | Set Scores: 16-25, 23-25, 25-21, 14-25)
The first set saw five ties and three lead changes which began with the Panthers taking an early 5-2 lead. Senior
Christina Franco's (Lynbrook, N.Y.) kill would start a 10-4 run for the Knights as they took a 12-9 lead.
Adelphi would rally back using a 16-4 run to take the first set to the score of 25-16 and a 1-0 match lead.
The home side jumped ahead to a 7-4 lead in the second set before Franco started another 8-1 for the Knights as they took a 12-8 advantage. However the Panthers would crawl back to get within one, 14-13 before junior
Lindsay Osterhoudt's (Orlando, FLA) kill put Queens on a 7-2 run as the Knights took a 21-15 lead.
But the Panthers would go not away quietly as they rallied back to end the second set on a 10-2 run for a set victory of 25-23 and a 2-0 match lead.
Looking to bounce back the duo of freshman
Madi Hathaway (Edmond, OK) and Franco helped Queens jump out to a 7-1 lead in the third set. Despite the Panthers slowly starting to cut into the Knights' lead, the trio of junior
Kendall Conrad (Carrolltown, PA), Osterhoudt, and Franco helped the Knights keep their lead.
With the Knights leading 20-15, a Panthers service followed by a kill from freshman
Jonaida Donowa (Porter, TX) and a block from Conrad Queens would take a commanding lead of 23-15 and were two points away from cutting their match deficit to one.
But the veteran Panthers would use a 6-0 run as they cut Queens' advantage down to 23-21 before Conrad notched back-to-back kills to help Queens clinch the third set to the score of 25-21 and get within one of forcing a deciding fifth set.
Looking to keep the momentum going, a double block from Conrad and Osterhoudt started the fourth set for Queens before the Panthers went on a 5-1 run. Queens would get within two on two separate occasions in the early going of the fourth set but errors would hurt the Knights' comeback attempt as Adelphi was able to pull away with the set and match to defeat Queens to the final set score of 25-14 and a 3-1 match victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Franco and Conrad combined for 18 kills, 15 digs, and three blocks on the evening.
- The duo of Donowa and Osterhoudt combined for 15 with the junior recording seven kills with a team-high .353 hitting %.
- Rookie Hathaway recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 15 assists and 11 digs and tied a team-high two service aces.
- Senior Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece) recorded a team-high 20 assists to go with eight digs and one kill.
- Freshman Sophie Schonauer (Bakersfield, CA) tied a career-high 14 digs in the match.
- Junior Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) notched 12 digs and tied a team-high two service aces.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights will use the next few days to prepare for their fifth doubleheader of the year on Saturday, Sept. 21 as they host the Knights Tri-Match by welcoming the Bentley University Falcons and Lewis University Flyers. The first serve is set for 10:00 a.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).
