Box Score Charlotte, NC – Queens University of Charlotte volleyball (6-18, 3-13 SAC) hosted Tusculum (11-13, 10-6 SAC) on October 24, 2014, in a match that pushed to four sets resulting in a Pioneers 25-18, 19-25, 25-13, 25-17 win. Queens broke its season high record with 74 digs, for a single match, trumping the pervious tally of 70 against Coker on October 21.
Rebecca Cochran would take hold of 10 kills during the match partnered with a solo block and eight digs.
Liza Schimmelfing would set a career high, diving across the floor for 10 digs.
Megan Mancini and
Katie Schoenrock would aid Schimmelfing in keeping the Royals alive as Mancini lead the team with 28 digs in addition to 15 from Schoenrock.
Elizabeth Bialkowski would be involved in five of the Royals 8 total blocks while
Meredith Jones partnered in four. Rallying the offense,
Sydney Kunz would assist with 32 points for the Royals while taking two kills and an ace herself.
The Royals would set a season record as they united on defense, refusing to go easily on the Tusculum advance. The Royals tallied as a unit 74 total digs keeping the ball alive and the team in the game. Queens also took eight blocks for the match in contribution to 34 kills. The Royals would average a .121 hitting average for the night while Tusculum hit for a .221 average. The Pioneers would also find the Royals floor 56 times, tying the most from an opponent this season. However, the Royals would force Tusculum to come up with 75 diving digs, also the most of any opponent this season, as Queens battled through the four sets.
Tusculum would run their offense through Sabrina Schleuger who walked away from tonight's match with 14 kills, 14 digs, and five aces. Megan Hasse would trail shortly behind Schleuger with 11 kills. Shannon Murphy would lead the team in assists tallying 31 for the match. Moriah Jones would come up with 27 digs to partner on defense with Jaida Allen, who was involved in seven of the eight Pioneers' blocks.
The Royals would have a slow start as Tusculum found an early 6-2 lead. Unable to settle into a rhythm, Queens would take their first timeout as two errors put the Pioneers up 10-5. The Royals would continue to battle, forcing the Pioneers to work for points, however Queens would be unable to make-up taking a 20-12 deficit. Rallied round three Cochran kills, the team would push back to 22-17 but could not maintain the run. Tusculum brought the set to a close as Danae Stauffer pushed one past the net, 25-18.
Queens would open up set two forcing back-to-back errors on the Tusculum side. An ace by Thompson would move the Royals even further in front, taking the team up 6-3. Queens would eventually find themselves trailing as the Pioneers as they took a 5-0 run (11-9), but the Royals were relentless in their pursuit. The two squads would see five tying points as they battled through 18-18 score. Bialkowski would find separation for Queens, taking a pair of kills that lead a 7-1 Royals run. This run would cap the match in the Royals favor 25-19.
Hasse would be the point person as Set 3 began and Tusculum grabbed a 4-0 lead. A string of errors would allow the Royals to come within one (5-4); however a strong Tusculum team would create distance backing Queens into an 11-5 hole. Schleuger would cause the Royals' timeout finding two back-to-back aces for the 16-7 lead. Cochran would have the sole kill to add to a Bialkowski-Schoenrock block as Tusculum finished the set at 25-13.
In a match that saw several, long rallying points, the Royals managed to hold their ground as Set 4 went underway. It would again be Hasse who provided an answer for the Pioneers, beginning a 6-0 for Tusculum that brought an 11-3 lead. As the team pushed back to a 13-8 trailing score, Bialkowski would again find a pair of kills for the Royals. It would prove not enough, however, as Tusculum continued to extend their lead taking Queens into a 17-9 timeout. The Royals would not be able to recover as Tusculum capped of the match with a 25-17 score.
Queens will return to action tomorrow hosting both Mars Hill (7-16, 6-10 SAC) and Francis Marion (7-15, 4-9 PBC) at 2 pm and 7 pm, respectfully.
