CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team picked up a pivotal conference victory over Mars Hill 3-0 on Friday night in front of another electric crowd. The win improved the Royals overall record to 11-7 and 6-3 in league action while Mars Hill fell to 13-7 overall and 5-6 in South Atlantic Conference action. Queens also advanced their record inside the Levine Center to 6-1 this season.
 
The Royals set the tone early by jumping on the Lions 6-1 in the first set. Mars Hill would respond with a short run of their own to knot the score at nine. The two squads would go back-and-forth before the Royals went on a seven-point rally which was capped off by a Brooke Farley service ace. The Lions would attempt to mount a comeback and inch as close as 23-20 before the Royals closed it out and Lindsay Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.) notched a kill. In the opener, the Royals earned 10 kills while forcing the Lions into 11 attacking errors and a -.024 hitting percentage.
 
In the second frame, Queens erupted for 17 kills and a .273 hitting percentage. The Royals attack was constantly set up by stellar defensive play and allowed them to find a rhythm on offense. Six Royals notched a kill in the second with Lindsay Elmore and Grace Giunta (Palm City, Fla.) leading the charge with four a piece. The Royals executed on the service line in the set tallying three aces. Mars Hill managed to play a better offensive set by hitting .205 and limiting their attacking errors to three, but the Royals defense would not budge, and the home team sealed the set 25-20.
 
Fans were treated to an offensive outburst in the final set as the Royals erupted for a .480 hitting percentage and 14 kills. Six Royals recorded a kill in the final frame with Alleigh Johnson (Winterville, N.C.) and Jordyn Johnson (Jamestown, N.C.) leading the way with four a piece. In addition to the kills, Jordyn Johnson capped off the evening with consecutive service aces to earn the victory for the Royals.
 
The highlight of the evening was the Royals sensational defensive efforts. Loren Johnson (Huntersville, N.C.) and Jordyn Johnson refused to let anything beat them as the rookie duo tallied 13 and 14 digs, respectively. At the net, Kayla McDuffie (Winterville, N.C.) recorded seven blocks to run her total to 73.0 on the season. The Royals notched 11 blocks as a team. The Royals were led offensively by Grace Giunta with nine kills, Jordyn Johnson with eight kills, and seven kills from Alleigh Johnson and Kayla McDuffie. For the Lions, Grace Lilly finished with nine kills and a team-high .231 hitting percentage.
 
The Royals have a quick turnaround as they will return to the court on Saturday when they host Lenoir-Rhyne University. The Bears are 10-3 on the season and 8-1 in South Atlantic Conference action. The match will start at 2:00 p.m. from Curry Arena. Be sure to follow the Royals on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on all game updates and news.