FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing East Coast Conference play, the Queens College women's volleyball team returned to Fitzgerald Gymnasium Saturday morning, hosting Roberts Wesleyan University in conference action.
The Knights' offense was led by rookie middle blockers
Garnette Webb and
Mikayla Haskell, who combined for 23 kills and four blocks as Queens earned a hard-fought four-set victory over the Redhawks.
With the victory, the Knights improve to 1-1 in ECC play on the season.
Match Recap
Queens opened the first set with an 11-5 lead before the Redhawks rallied to pull within two, 11-9. The Knights answered with a 5-2 run to extend their advantage to 16-11, highlighted by a kill from rookie
Zoe Sercu.
Roberts Wesleyan continued to stay within striking distance, clawing back to within three, 19-16. Following a Redhawks service error, Sercu recorded back-to-back service aces, while Webb and rookie
Lucia Bennett combined for two kills as Queens closed the set on a 6-1 run to secure a 25-17 victory and take a 1-0 match lead.
The second set featured seven ties and three lead changes as both teams exchanged points early. With the score tied at 7-7, a block from Webb and a service ace from junior
Asuka Shibue helped the Knights take a 9-7 advantage.
Roberts Wesleyan responded with a 9-1 run to take a 16-10 lead. The Redhawks maintained their advantage the rest of the way, evening the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 second-set victory.
Queens opened the third set with a 5-2 lead, highlighted by three kills and a service ace from junior
Olivia Hyman.
The Redhawks continued to battle, pulling within one, 10-9. The Knights answered with an 8-2 run, recording five kills during the stretch, including two from Bennett, to take an 18-11 lead.
Queens errors allowed the visitors to rally back within one, 22-21, as Roberts Wesleyan used a 10-4 run to close the gap. A kill from Webb and another service ace from Shibue halted the run and put the Knights at set point, 24-21. After the Redhawks answered with back-to-back points, Haskell delivered a kill to seal the set, giving Queens a 25-23 victory and a 2-1 match lead.
The fourth set opened with Queens scoring the first three points before the Redhawks responded with a 5-0 run to take a 5-3 lead, forcing a Knights timeout. Out of the break, Queens responded with Haskell recording back-to-back kills before rookie
Jaslynn Daily added a kill and a block. A service ace from Hyman extended the Knights' lead to 9-5.
After Roberts Wesleyan used a 2-0 run to pull within two, 9-7, a Redhawks attack error was followed by two service aces from Haskell. Webb and Sercu then combined for three kills as Queens erupted for a 6-0 run to take a commanding 15-7 advantage.
The visitors refused to go down quietly, rallying to pull within two, 18-16. Haskell answered with a kill to halt the comeback attempt and spark a 7-1 closing run for the Knights. Back-to-back service aces from Hyman and a solo block from Daily capped the run as Queens secured a 25-17 fourth-set victory and its first ECC win of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Webb recorded a career-high 13 kills while hitting a scorching .611, adding three blocks.
- Haskell tallied 10 kills, tied her career high with three service aces and added one block.
- Sercu recorded eight kills, seven digs and two service aces.
- Bennett posted eight kills, two blocks and two digs.
- Rookie Kaiya Banks registered a career-high 29 assists, eight digs, one service ace and two kills.
- Hyman recorded a team-high five service aces and added four digs.
- Shibue posted a team-best 13 digs to go with three assists and two service aces.
NEXT SERVE
Queens concludes non-conference play on Thursday, Oct. 8, when the Knights travel to Bridgeport, Conn., to face the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights. 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).
