MARS HILL, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team hit the road Friday night, falling to the Lions of Mars Hill University 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21) inside Stanford Arena.
 
Queens (6-7, 2-3 SAC) and Mars Hill (8-4, 2-2 SAC) entered the match sixth and seventh, respectively, in the South Atlantic Conference standings and the Royals were riding a seven-match winning streak against the Lions. However, the Lions got timely kills when they needed them the most to end the streak.
 
The first set of play was close throughout the early-going, but a 6-0 run for the Lions put them ahead 17-9 midway through. Queens responded with four unanswered points of its own to close the gap and battled back to eventually take a 24-23 lead on back-to-back Mars Hill attack errors. But it was Mars Hill that scored the final three points of the set to lay claim to a 1-0 match lead.
 
Another closely contested set ensued in the second frame as the lead changed hands five times before another 6-0 run put the Lions ahead by a 20-14 score. Queens was able to cut the deficit to three points twice down the stretch but Mars Hill's Abby King put her team in front 2-0 with a kill.
 
Queens laid claim to an early 7-2 advantage to start the third set, highlighted by three kills from sophomore Logan Witt and another two kills by fellow sophomore Casey Tarvin to go along with a Jordan Proszenyak service ace. The Royals' lead stretch to six points on consecutive kills from Proszenyak and Chanel Turner to force a Mars Hill timeout.
 
Mars Hill came out of the timeout with a 9-3 run to tie the match at 19-all, but the Royals responded with a run of their own to take the frame on a kills from Turner and extend the match. The fourth and final set continued to see the two sides keep it close until a late 5-0 run by the Lions overcame a Queens edge and led to a home win.
 
Witt continued her strong play and led all players with 18 kills and four total blocks. Proszenyak followed with 12 kills and 22 digs, while Tarvin chipped in 10 kills and a match-high 32 digs on defense. Tarvin's dig total is the second highest mark for a Queens player in a four-set match.
 
Junior Mallory Swarts had a double-double with 29 assists and 18 digs, while redshirt-freshman Alexandria Becerra had a double-double of her own with 18 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Olivia Williamson collected eight kills and a .313 hitting mark in her first career start, and fellow sophomore JayCee Jones contributed 27 digs from her libero position for her fourth consecutive match with 20 or more digs.
 
The Royals will look to rebounds tomorrow as the team travels to Hickory, N.C. for a 2 p.m. matchup with Lenoir-Rhyne University in a crucial South Atlantic Conference matchup.