CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After three consecutive home matches, head coach
Hannah Long and her squad were back on the road, head northwest to the Bluegrass State, Kentucky, for a pair of ASUN matchups.
Queens faced off with Eastern Kentucky, falling in straight sets (25-14, 25-20, 25-19). Queens falls to 5-13 (0-5 ASUN) while Eastern Kentucky improves to 11-8 (2-3 ASUN).
The first set saw the Colonels get to an early lead that they were able to hold throughout. The Royals put up a noble offensive effort, as
Kayla McDuffie,
Victoria Wood, and
Alleigh Johnson managed multiple kils in the set, but were unable to get into a groove.
Alleigh Johnson helped lead Queens to a strong start in the second set. She earned each of the team's first three points via kills, tying the set at 3 early. Later in the set, the Royals found themselves down by six but had plenty of fight in them. They managed a three-point run thanks to kills by
Abbey Criser and Wood, along with an error by the Colonels. EKU managed to rebuild the lead to seven, but resilient Royals once again fought back with a vengeance.
Back-to-back kills by
Anna Law and Criser cut the deficit to five points. From there,
Alleigh Johnson managed to serve up THREE consecutive aces to extend the run to five points and cut Queens' deficit to two, before another kill by Law made the score 19-18 in favor of Eastern Kentucky. A couple more kills by Law and Criser helped keep the set close but the Colonels were able to sneak by the Royals, taking the set 25-20.
Kaylin Dowling and Johnson got things started early in the third set with a kill each. Criser and Law combined for a block to cut Queens' early deficit to two. EKU gained momentum which they held for a large portion of the set until a late push by Queens made things interesting.
After a service error returned the ball to Queens,
Makayla Barnes entered the match to serve. An error and a kill by Criser kicked things off on an impressive run by Queens. After another error,
Jaianna Bouarouy and
Ellie Ackermann combined for a block assist which capped of a five-point run.
Eastern Kentucky would earn a kill on the next point, taking the set and ultimately the match.
The Royals are back in action tomorrow, October 8 as they head to Louisville, KY. to take on Bellarmine at 2 PM.
