MARS HILL, N.C. – Three seniors, Rebecca Cochran, Sydney Kunz and Jessica Raines, played pivotal roles in leading the Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-20) win over league opponent Mars Hill University on Friday night.
 
The Royals (7-3, 2-2) broke a two-match losing streak and got back to the .500 mark in South Atlantic Conference play by hitting .227 as a team and collecting 75 digs, the fourth highest match total this year. The loss drops the Lions to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in league play, as Queens forced MHU to hit just .099 and held a 5-2 advantage in service aces.
 
Queens held an early 10-7 lead in the first set before three unanswered points by the host team tied the score at 10-all. The Royals answered with a 7-3 run, including two kills each from Cochran and Raines, to force a timeout.
 
Out of the break, the Lions rattled off five points in a row to take a brief one-point lead and extended the advantage to 23-19 late in the frame. After a Queens timeout, the Royals battled back to tie the set at 24-all and again at 25-all before a kill from freshman Casey Tarvin and two by Raines ended the set with the visitors in front.
 
The Royals totaled 13 kills and just two attack errors in the second set, leading to a convincing nine-point victory before closing the match with a .400 hitting mark in the third and final set of play.
 
Raines led the offensive attack with 12 kills and a .367 hitting percentage, as Kunz dished out 33 assists and two service aces while matching her career-high with 19 digs. Cochran chipped in 10 kills and 15 digs of her own, followed by six kills and 10 digs from Tarvin.
 
Queens remains on the road for another SAC contest tomorrow as the team takes on Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn. at 2 p.m.