ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Continuing East Coast Conference (ECC) play, the Queens College women's volleyball team traveled to Rockville Centre on Sunday afternoon to take on the Molloy University Lions inside Bob Houlihan Gymnasium.
Despite a short-handed lineup, the Knights battled throughout the match as rookies
Mikayla Haskell and
Zoe Sercu combined for 23 kills. Queens captured the third set to extend the match, but its comeback attempt fell short as the Knights dropped a four-set decision to the Lions.
Queens moves to 1-3 in ECC play.
Match Recap
Queens fell behind early, trailing 5-1, before using a 4-1 run to pull within one at 6-5.
As the Lions extended their lead to four, Haskell and Sercu combined for three kills to help the Knights close the gap to 9-8.
However, a 10-1 run by Molloy allowed the hosts to pull ahead, 19-9. The Lions maintained their advantage to close out the opening set, 25-16, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Behind rookies
Garnette Webb, Sercu and Haskell, Queens opened the second set trading points with the Lions. With the score tied at 4-4, Molloy used a 12-3 run to build a 16-7 advantage before closing out the set, 25-14, to take a 2-0 match lead.
Looking to extend the match, Queens opened the third set with a 5-1 run, highlighted by a kill from junior
Olivia Hyman, a service ace from rookie
Kaiya Banks and three Molloy errors.
The Lions responded with a 6-1 run to take a 7-6 lead. As both teams traded points, the Knights remained within striking distance.
With Molloy leading 12-11, Queens capitalized on two Lions errors, a solo block by Webb and a kill from Sercu to take a 15-12 advantage.
Molloy pulled within one on two occasions, at 15-14 and 17-16, before a kill from Webb sparked a 5-0 run that extended the Knights' lead to 22-16.
The Lions continued to chip away at the deficit, but kills from Haskell and Hyman helped Queens close out the set, 25-21, cutting Molloy's match lead to 2-1.
Looking to force a deciding fifth set, Queens opened the fourth set with an 8-3 run. Sercu recorded two kills during the stretch, while Banks and Hyman each added a service ace.
With the Knights leading 11-7, Molloy responded with a 5-0 run to take a 12-11 advantage. A Lions service error and back-to-back kills from Hyman helped Queens regain the lead at 15-12.
After Molloy pulled within one at 15-14, a double block by Sercu and Webb sparked a 6-2 run that gave the Knights a 21-16 advantage.
However, the Lions mounted a late rally, closing the set on a 9-1 run to earn a 25-22 victory and clinch the match in four sets.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Haskell led the Knights with a team-high 12 kills and added two digs.
- Sercu recorded 11 kills, eight digs, two blocks and one service ace.
- Hyman tallied a career-high six kills, a team-high 15 digs and one service ace.
- Webb contributed six kills, a team-high three blocks and two digs.
- Rookie Jaslynn Daily dished out a team-high 20 assists and added eight digs, one block and one service ace.
- Banks recorded 10 assists, four digs and two service aces.
- Junior Asuka Shibue contributed 12 digs and one service ace.
NEXT SERVE
Queens returns to Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Thursday, Oct. 15, when the Knights host the Mercy University Mavericks in ECC play. First serve is scheduled 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).
