HARROGATE, TENN. – The Queens (4-1 overall, 1-0 SAC) women's volleyball team hit the road for the first time on the young season and swept the Lincoln Memorial Lady Railsplitters (1-4 overall, 0-1 SAC) 3-0 at Mary Mars Gymnasium on Friday evening. The victory was the Royals fourth overall win this season and first conference victory.
 
In a match that lasted just over an hour, the Royals got out of the gates fast and never looked back. After jumping out to an early 5-0 lead in the first set, Queens never trailed in the remainder of the match. The five-point opening rally set the tone early and was capped off by a Kaylin Dowling (Woodleaf, N.C.) kill forcing Lincoln Memorial into an early timeout. The Royals would proceed to capitalize on attacking opportunities as they hit .382 as a team in the first set while holding the Lady Railsplitters to a .077 mark.
 
The second set opened in similar fashion as Queens jumped out to a 7-0 lead and saw it grow to 12-3 before Lincoln Memorial took their second timeout of the set. The pause would prove beneficial as the Lady Railsplitters inched their way back into the match and capitalized on Queens miscues. With the set on the line, the Royals held a 24-23 advantage and senior Lindsay Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.) notched her fifth kill to lockdown the set. Elmore finished the evening with a game-high nine total kills and an impressive .500 hitting percentage.
 
Lincoln Memorial appeared to carry the late momentum from the second set into the third set as they went point-for-point with the Royals early. Leading 8-6, Queens mounted a five-point rally to open the score up again. While the Royals out hit the Lady Railsplitters 12-9 in the third set, Queens executed seven service aces. The Royals finished with 12 total service aces and four different players contributed multiple aces.
 
Brooke Farley (Fort Mill, S.C.) aligned the offensive attack with 28 assists while adding two kills. The senior setter contributed five digs and a block on defense. The Royals got offensive production from Kaylin Dowling who tallied seven kills and a .217 hit percentage, Abbey Criser (West Yarmouth, Mass.) who finished with eight kills, and Victoria Wood (Jacksonville, Fla.) with five kills. As a team, Queens hit .224 and limited the conference foe to a .051 percentage. In all four Royals victories this season, Queens has not dropped a set
 
The Royals will make the short trek overnight through Tennessee and quickly prepare for an afternoon matchup with conference rival Carson-Newman tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. The Eagles were picked to finish third in the SAC preseason poll and currently hold a 2-3 record overall. Be sure to follow the Royals on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on all game updates and news.