WINGATE, N.C. – The Queens women's volleyball team jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against conference rival Wingate, however the Bulldogs rallied in the final three frames to oust the Royals at Cuddy Arena in Wingate, N.C. The loss dropped the Royals to 6-5 on the young season and 2-1 in South Atlantic Conference play while Wingate improved to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.
 
Queens opened the evening in dominant fashion leaving Bulldog fans stunned as the Royals handled the first two sets. Both frames were similar offensively as Queens maneuvered their attack and avoided the Wingate netminders by collecting 12 kills and 14 kills respectively. The Royals hit .157 in the first set but swung it consistently in the second by posting a .250 mark. Queens halted the aggressive Wingate attack through the first two sets as the Bulldogs hit .150 and .180 while committing 16 attacking errors. The Royals also added six blocks.
 
The final three frames were a very different story as Wingate found their rhythm on offense. Despite committing 18 attacking errors, the Bulldogs increased their attacking percentage, including a .273 mark in the fifth set to rally past Queens. After committing five errors in the first two sets, the Royals finished with 21 in the last three and could not overcome them.
 
Jesse George (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Brooke Farley (Fort Mill, S.C.) each finished the evening with a double-double. George finished with 13 kills and 21 digs along with a team-high 15.5 points. Senior Brooke Farley dished out 42 assists and tallied 12 digs. The Wingate attack was set up by Shannon Kasprak who tallied 52 assists. Sophie Schaff capitalized on those assists with 15 kills to go along with 10 blocks.
 
With the loss, Queens has dropped seven straight matches to the Bulldogs. The Royals fell to 1-3 on the season when matches go into a fifth set.
 
Queens will return to the court on Saturday when they travel to Hartsville, S.C. for another conference clash with Coker. The match will kick off at 2:00 p.m. from the Harris E. & Louise H. DeLoach Center. Be sure to follow the Royals on Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date on all game updates and news.