CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team opened a five-match home stand at the Levine Center in thrilling fashion on Tuesday night. Fans were treated to an electric five-set match that saw the Royals halt a late Limestone comeback. The victory was monumental as head coach Hannah Long notched her 100^th career victory at Queens. The Royals improved to 10-7 overall on the season and 5-3 in league action while the Saints fell to 6-9 overall and 3-7 in league play.
 
In every set, neither team would budge and allow the other to open the lead. In the first frame, the largest lead grew to four when the Royals opened it to 24-20, however the Saints would not shy away as they closed to 24-22 before Kayla McDuffie (Winterville, N.C.) sealed the set with a kill. The Royals managed to control the Saints ferocious attack by forcing them into a .082 hitting percentage and 10 attacking errors. Queens would go on to hit .118 in the opener with eight kills.
 
The second set was one of the most exhilarating sets of the season so far. After trailing 9-5, the Royals mounted a nine-point rally and jolted ahead of the Saints. In a back-and-forth rally, both squads battled until the Royals mounted three consecutive points to grab the set 28-26. Jordyn Johnson (Jamestown, N.C.), Lindsay Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.), and Grace Giunta (Palm City, Fla.) each tallied a kill in the closing points. Despite doubling their kills in the second, the Royals committed ten attacking errors. Fortunately, the defense was resilient again forcing the Saints into nine errors. For the match, Limestone would commit 41 attacking errors.
 
The third and fourth sets saw the Saints inch closer to mounting an impressive comeback. Limestone tallied 38 kills between the two sets and hit a combined .229 while the Royals only managed to hit .128. Josie Curran led the Saints attack totaling 26 kills on a .321 hitting percentage. Vanessa Blas and Madysen Williams would add 19 and 12 kills, respectively. In the third set, the Saints finished strong by closing on a 7-3 run. Trailing 18-12 in the fourth frame, the Royals worked four straight points and bridged the deficit before falling short.
 
In the thrilling fifth set, the Royals fans were electric. Losing 6-5, Queens found their rhythm and used an 8-2 run to open the score and seal the set 15-9. The Royals attack was led by Jordyn Johnson and Alleigh Johnson (Winterville, N.C.) tallying 13 kills each while Grace Giunta added 10. The defensive charge was led by Loren Johnson (Huntersville, N.C.) notching 19 digs, Jesse George (Virginia Beach, Va.) with 18 digs, and Jordyn Johnson with 24 digs. Kayla McDuffie also added two solo blocks and four block assists.
 
The Royals will return to the court on Friday, Oct. 15 when they welcome Mars Hill for a conference clash beginning at 7:00 p.m. Be sure to rock your Royals blue as the theme for the night is 'Blue Out.' Students, make sure to swing by the table at the entrance and present your Q-Card to be entered to win an Apple Watch Series5. You can stay up to date with the Royals season by following them on Instagram and Twitter.