FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing East Coast Conference (ECC) play, the Queens College women's volleyball team welcomed the Mercy University Mavericks to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Thursday evening for its lone home match of the week.
The Knights battled throughout the contest, led by rookie
Zoe Sercu, who recorded a team-high 12 kills, while junior
Olivia Hyman added a team-high four service aces. However, Queens fell in straight sets as the Mavericks secured the three-set victory.
Queens moves to 1-4 in ECC play.
Match Recap
The Knights opened the first set on a strong note, as rookie
Kaiya Banks recorded a service ace before rookie
Garnette Webb followed with a solo block to give Queens an early 2-0 lead. Mercy responded with a 4-0 run to take a 4-2 advantage, but two Mavericks errors and a kill from Webb put the Knights back in front, 5-4.
However, Mercy answered with an 11-0 run to build a 15-5 lead, an advantage the Mavericks would not relinquish as they claimed the opening set, 25-10, to take a 1-0 match lead.
Mercy opened the second set with a 6-1 advantage before Queens responded with a 5-1 run to pull within one, 7-6. Webb and Sercu each recorded kills during the stretch, while three consecutive service aces from Hyman helped fuel the Knights' rally.
Queens continued to battle, trimming a four-point deficit to two at 11-9 behind a kill from rookie
Mikayla Haskell and a service ace from
Isabella Garcia Valencia.
As the Mavericks extended their lead, the Knights continued to fight back, pulling within four at 17-13. However, Mercy closed the set with an 8-4 run to secure a 25-17 victory and take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set proved to be the most competitive of the evening, as the Knights refused to go down without a fight. After Mercy opened with a 3-1 lead, a kill from Sercu and a service ace from junior
Asuka Shibue evened the score at 3-3.
The Mavericks responded with a 15-5 run to build an 18-8 advantage. However, the young Knights squad continued to battle, using the service line to spark a comeback. Banks and Hyman combined for three service aces to cut the deficit to six at 19-13.
A kill from Sercu and back-to-back service aces from Shibue brought Queens within four at 21-17. With Mercy leading 23-18, a kill from Hyman and two consecutive service aces from Haskell brought the Knights within one at 23-22.
After the Mavericks reached match point, back-to-back errors by the visitors allowed Queens to even the set at 24-24. However, a service error by the Knights followed by a service ace from Mercy sealed the third set, 26-24, as the Mavericks completed the season series sweep.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sercu led the Knights' offense with a team-high 12 kills.
- Webb added five kills and one block.
- Hyman recorded a team-high four service aces, along with three kills and three digs.
- Haskell tallied three kills, two service aces and two blocks.
- Rookie Jaslynn Daily distributed 15 assists and recorded four digs.
- Shibue finished with seven digs, four assists and three service aces.
NEXT SERVE
Queens heads to Rochester, N.Y., on Saturday, Oct. 17, to face the Roberts Wesleyan University Redhawks in ECC action. First serve is scheduled 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).
