FLUSHING, N.Y. – Opening the 2026 season at home as hosts of the fourth annual Aline Pascale Lubin Invitational, the Queens College women's volleyball team welcomed Post University and American International College to Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Friday.
The Knights opened the day with a thrilling five-set comeback victory over Post, rallying from a 2-1 deficit behind a strong performance from their freshman class.
Zoe Sercu led the way in her collegiate debut, recording her first career double-double with a match-high 17 kills and 12 digs. Four Queens rookies finished the match with double-digit kills.
In their second match of the day, the Knights fell to AIC in three sets, with Sercu and fellow rookie
Garnette Webb leading the offense with seven kills apiece.
The Knights open the year with an overall record of 1-1 while winning their season opener for the third time in four seasons.
MATCH RECAP - Queens 3, Post 2
Queens and Post battled through a back-and-forth opening set that featured 11 ties and seven lead changes.
After the Eagles took an early 10-8 lead, the Knights answered with a 10-4 run to take an 18-14 advantage. Sercu recorded three kills during the stretch, while junior
Asuka Shibue added two service aces.
Post responded with a 9-4 run of its own to regain the lead at 23-22. Queens then reached set point following a kill from Webb and an Eagles attacking error, but Post scored three consecutive points to take the opening set, 26-24.
The Knights came out strong in the second set, building an 11-6 lead before the Eagles trimmed the deficit to one, 12-11, with a 5-1 run.
Queens quickly regained control behind kills from rookies
Mikayla Haskell and
Jaslynn Daily, along with two Post attacking errors, to extend its lead to 16-12. After the Eagles pulled within two, 16-14, the Knights closed the set on a dominant 9-1 run.
Sercu recorded three kills during the closing stretch, while Webb delivered the final kill to give Queens a 25-15 second-set victory and even the match at 1-1.
Post responded in the third set, opening an 11-7 advantage following a 7-1 run after Queens had taken an early 6-4 lead. The Knights battled back to within two at 11-9, but the Eagles pulled away late to take the set, 25-19, and regain the match lead at 2-1.
Facing a must-win fourth set, Queens turned in its most efficient offensive performance of the match, hitting .450 while recording 12 kills.
Rookie
Lucia Bennett led the Knights with four kills in the set, while junior
Olivia Hyman and Sercu combined for four service aces. Queens pulled away for a 25-15 victory to force a deciding fifth set.
Post scored the first two points of the fifth, but Queens immediately responded. Sercu and Shibue helped spark a 4-0 run that put the Knights ahead, 4-2.
The Eagles cut the deficit to one, 6-5, but Webb's kill ignited another Queens run. The Knights scored six straight points to build a commanding 12-5 advantage.
Post attempted another comeback, using two Queens attacking errors and a service ace to pull within four, 12-8. An Eagles attacking error then moved the Knights within two points of victory.
Bennett followed with her second kill of the set and 13th of the match to give Queens match point. Haskell then delivered the decisive blow, recording her 12th kill of the afternoon to seal the 15-8 fifth-set victory and complete the 3-2 comeback.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sercu recorded her first career double-double with a match-high 17 kills and 12 digs, along with four service aces and one block.
- Bennett recorded 13 kills to go with three digs.
- Haskell notched 12 kills, three blocks and one dig.
- Webb tallied 11 kills, three blocks and four digs.
- Rookie Kaiya Banks recorded 23 assists, seven digs, two blocks and two service aces.
- Daily recorded her first career double-double with 23 assists, 13 digs, three service aces and two blocks.
- Shibue notched a team-high 16 digs, six assists and three service aces.
- Hyman recorded seven digs, a match-high six service aces and two assists.
MATCH RECAP - Queens 0, AIC 3
In their second match of the day, the Knights faced AIC and fell behind 12-4 early in the opening set.
Queens battled back, using a 6-4 run to cut the deficit to four, 21-17, but the Yellow Jackets held on for a 25-20 first-set victory.
The Knights kept pace early in the second set before AIC turned a 4-3 advantage into a 10-4 lead. Queens was unable to close the gap as the Yellow Jackets took the second set, 25-16, to move ahead 2-0.
AIC again jumped out to an early lead in the third set, taking an 8-3 advantage before Webb's kill ended the run. The Yellow Jackets responded with six consecutive points to build a 14-4 lead.
Queens was unable to mount another comeback, as AIC closed out the match with a 25-14 third-set victory to complete the three-set sweep.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sercu recorded seven kills and tied a career best with four service aces, along with three digs.
- Webb matched Sercu with seven kills.
- Bennett recorded five kills, two digs and one block.
- Haskell recorded four kills and tied a career best with three blocks.
- Banks tallied a team-high 11 assists and five digs, along with two service aces.
NEXT SERVE
Queens concludes the Aline Pascale Lubin Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 29, welcoming Wayne State College and Bloomsburg University to Fitzgerald Gymnasium. First serve is set for 10 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).
