NEW HAVEN, CT. – Opening a seven-match road stand Saturday, the Queens College women's volleyball team traveled to Pelz Gymnasium for the SCSU Tri-Match against host Southern Connecticut State University Owls and Franklin Pierce University Ravens.
The young Knights battled throughout both matches, dropping a three-set decision to the Owls before forcing a decisive fifth set against the Ravens, who ultimately prevailed in five sets.
SCSU Recap
The match against the Owls featured 22 ties and eight lead changes across three sets.
After dropping the opening set, 25-15, Queens battled in the second, which featured 10 ties and three lead changes. With the Knights trailing 18-17, a kill from rookie
Mikayla Haskell sparked back-to-back points to give Queens a 19-18 advantage. The Owls answered with a 6-1 run to take a 24-20 lead.
Despite multiple SCSU errors allowing Queens to pull within one, 24-23, the Owls closed out the set with their eighth kill to take a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was equally competitive as Queens outhit SCSU, .290 to .216, while recording 10 kills. Rookie
Zoe Sercu led the Knights with a set-high four kills.
Queens pulled within one late in the third set, but the Owls closed out the match to complete the three-set sweep.
FPU Recap
In their second match of the day, the Knights battled through another tightly contested match, including one of their longest rallies of the season in the second set, which saw the teams combine for 76 points.
The five-set match featured 34 ties and 15 lead changes, with the second set alone featuring 27 ties and 12 lead changes.
In the opening set, rookie
Lucia Bennett led Queens with four kills. With the Knights holding a 9-7 advantage, a Franklin Pierce attacking error sparked a 12-3 run as Queens took a commanding 21-10 lead. The Knights maintained their advantage to secure a 25-16 victory, capped by Bennett's fourth kill.
The second set featured one of the longest rallies of the season as neither side backed down. Both teams erased deficits with runs of their own, but the Ravens ultimately tied the match at 1-1 with a 39-37 victory.
Queens continued to battle in the third set behind a set-high five kills from Sercu, but Franklin Pierce took a 2-1 lead with a 25-21 victory.
The Knights came out firing in the fourth set, opening with a season-best 7-0 run as Sercu and Haskell combined for eight kills. Queens continued to control the momentum and pulled away for a 25-18 victory, forcing a decisive fifth set for the second time this season.
Queens carried that momentum into the fifth, battling back to even the set at 5-5. Franklin Pierce answered with a 6-0 run, however, and held off the Knights down the stretch to secure the 15-8 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Sercu led the Knights with 23 combined kills.
- Recorded a team-best 14 kills against Franklin Pierce, marking her second double-digit-kill performance of the season.
- Haskell tallied 17 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and added four blocks.
- Against Franklin Pierce, she recorded 12 kills on a .308 hitting percentage and three blocks.
- Bennett finished with 19 kills and two blocks.
- Recorded 11 kills against Franklin Pierce.
- Rookie Jaslynn Daily combined for 59 assists, 26 digs, four blocks and three kills.
- Recorded her second career double-double against Franklin Pierce with a career-best 38 assists and 19 digs.
- Junior Olivia Hyman recorded a season-best 14 digs against Franklin Pierce.
- Junior Asuka Shibue combined for 34 digs, 12 assists and four service aces.
- Against Franklin Pierce, she narrowly missed a double-double with a season-best 23 digs and nine assists.
- Against SCSU, she tied her season best with three service aces.
NEXT SERVE
Queens remains on the road Tuesday, traveling to Philadelphia, Pa., for a non-conference matchup against Chestnut Hill College Griffins. First serve is set for 7 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).
