GREENEVILLE, TENN. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team forced a deciding fifth set but fell short of completing a comeback in a 3-2 (25-23, 26-24, 11-25, 21-25, 15-12) loss to Tusculum College on Saturday afternoon.
 
Tusculum (6-5, 4-3) took the first and second sets of play by two points each, putting the Royals (7-4, 2-3) in need of a rally.
 
Queens responded by leading from start to finish in the third set, staking an early 6-1 lead before closing the set on an 8-2 run. The Royals hit .357 as a team in the third set and registered four service aces.
 
The fourth set was more of the same for Queens as the team got ahead early with a 10-5 lead after three consecutive kills from freshman Casey Tarvin, junior Taylor Henry and senior Sydney Kunz. Tusculum was able to eventually tie the set at 18-all, but a 7-2 run helped the Royals force a deciding fifth set.
 
In the final set, the two sides played to eight total ties with neither team able to gain an advantage of more than two points. However, the Pioneers closed the match on a 4-1 run, sealing the victory with a service ace.
 
Senior Rebecca Cochran led all players with 19 kills in the match to go along with 15 digs, while Tarvin followed with 18 kills of her own.
 
Senior Alex Thompson was the third Royal in double figures, finishing with 10 kills, while sophomore libero Lexie Dolecheck tallied a career-high 32 digs. Classmate Mallory Swarts chipped in 13 digs and two service aces, as Kunz set a new career-high with 59 assists and three service aces.
 
Queens will have a week to prepare for their next match, a conference contest with Catawba College on Friday, Sept. 29 in Salisbury, N.C.