CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Queens Volleyball was unable to keep pace on the court tonight, as the visiting Barton Bulldogs handed the Royals their third consecutive conference loss in a 3-0 sweep.  The loss drops the Royals to 2-3 (7-5) and in fifth place in the Conference Carolinas while the Bulldogs improve to 5-1 (7-6) and stay idle in third place.

The Bulldogs got off to a quick start in Ovens Athletic Center, going up 20-12 in the first set en route to a 25-14 win. Melissa Ritter led the way for Barton, killing a match-high 14 of her 28 attempts to hit .464 on the night.

The Royals battled back in the second set, as Brittany Harvey (Matthews, N.C., Sun Valley ) picked up three of her six kills along with two blocking assists to bring the Royals within four at 16-20. After a Royals surge, Ritter took serve with a 23-20 lead and didn't look back, as the Bulldogs tallied the final two points to take a 25-20 win into the break.

Despite an inspired effort, the Royals were unable to turn things around as they dropped the third set 17-25.

Committing 18 attack errors, the Royals were unable to catch up to a Barton team that hit .361 on the night.

The Royals, ranked 20th in digs per set in Division II (17.86), came up with an uncharacteristic 31 on the night for a 10.33 average.

Looking to get back on pace, the Royals welcome a winless Coker College (0-4 CC, 0-8) to the Oven for a 6:30 p.m. match.