CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After splitting the opening doubleheader yesterday, the Queens women's volleyball team regrouped and found a rhythm as they took care of business in both matches on the final day of the 2021 Queens Fall Classic. The Royals opened the afternoon with a 3-0 victory over the Lees McRae Bobcats (1-3) before dropping the Young Harris Mountain Lions (0-4) 3-0 in the nightcap. With the Saturday sweep, Queens improved to 3-1 on the young season.
 
Queens 3, Lees McRae 0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-19)
 
From the first serve, Queens was in a rhythm and looking to avenge an opening night loss to the Lander Bearcats. The Royals utilized a six-point rally early in the set which was capped off by a Lindsay Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.) service ace. The rally propelled the Royals ahead and gave them momentum throughout the rest of the match. In the first frame, Grace Giunta (Palm City, Fla.) led the attack with five kills while Kayla McDuffie (Winterville, N.C.) defended the net with four block assists. The Royals front three forced the Bobcats into a -.049 attacking percentage in the first set.
 
In the second set, Queens maintained the attack by jumping out to a 12-4 lead courtesy of a seven-point rally which was finished with an Alleigh Johnson (Winterville, N.C.) service ace. The Bobcats would not go away as they managed to sneak back into the set and close the gap to 22-15, but Queens halted the comeback push. Early in the third set, Lees McRae took advantage of Queens attacking errors and kept the game within reach. With the score 15-15, the Royals found their groove and tallied six straight points. Senior Brooke Farley (Fort Mill, S.C.) set attacker Grace Giunta up for three kills during that stretch to send the Royals to a three-set victory.
 
The offense was led by Grace Giunta who earned a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. The sophomore also recorded a .333 attack percentage. On defense, Kayla McDuffie tallied six block assists and two solo blocks. For the third time in program history, the Royals finished with 13 team blocks which ranks second in the record book.
 
Queens 3, Young Harris 0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-20)
 
Following a dominant showing in the afternoon match, the Royals were slow to start in the nightcap as they fell behind the Mountain Lions early. Young Harris jolted out to an 8-2 lead in the first set and saw their lead increase to 17-5 forcing head coach Hannah Long to take her second timeout of the set. Immediately following the break, the Royals put together small rallies and worked their way back before closing out the frame on a 9-1 run and taking the first set.
 
The electric comeback victory in the first set allowed the Royals to settle into the second and third sets. In the second frame, Queens jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. Young Harris would not go away quietly as the Mountain Lions inched closer and went point-for-point with the Royals. Trailing 18-17 late in the second set, the Royals went on an 8-0 rally to seal the second set.
 
Queens stayed in sync during the third set as they took an early lead and never turned back. After losing the first point of the match, the Royals went on to lead for the duration of the match seeing their lead extend as far as nine points. While Young Harris attempted to mount a comeback, the Royals remained focused and ended the third set with a Kaylin Dowling (Woodleaf, N.C.) kill.
 
Lindsay Elmore (Salisbury, N.C.) highlights the offense with a game-high 12 kills, 15 points, and a .526 attacking percentage. On defense, Jesse George (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Abbey Criser (West Yarmouth, Mass.) combined for 26 digs on the evening.
 
The Royals will return to the court next weekend when they travel to Tennessee for a pair of South Atlantic Conference matches. Queens will open the weekend on Friday, Sept. 10 at Lincoln Memorial University before heading to Jefferson City for a contest with Carson-Newman. In the SAC preseason poll, Lincoln Memorial was picked to finish tenth while Carson-Newman was voted to finish third.
 
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