CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Royals' long month of traveling continues this weekend, as they headed south to Statesboro, GA. to compete in the GATA Challenge, hosted by Georgia Southern. They had two of their three matches today, taking on Georgia Southern in the early-going before facing off with Tennessee at Chattanooga. They fell to the Eagles in straight sets (25-19, 25-14, 25-12), before narrowly being defeated by Tennessee at Chattanooga, 3-1 (26-24, 27-25, 14-25, 15-25, 15-10).

Queens vs. Georgia Southern 

Queens put up a good fight early on but were unable to carry the momentum throughout the match. Sophomore Alleigh Johnson paced the offense as she has all season, concluding the match with eight kills while adding six digs and two block assists. The lone senior, Abbey Criser, added three kills herself and managed zero attacking errors, finishing with a .273 hitting percentage.

On the defensive side, sophomore Jesse George's scrappy defense was evident yet again as she managed 13 digs on the match, good for 4.33 digs per set. Jordyn Johnson managed another nine digs of her own to go along with three kills. At the net, freshman Ellie Ackermann led the Royals with four block assists, helping Queens outblock Georgia Southern, 12-10 in block assists.

Queens vs. Tennessee at Chattanooga

Queens' resiliency was put to the test yet again early in the season as they managed to edge out Tennessee at Chattanooga in a hard-fought five set battle. Four Royals reached double-digits as Queens improved to 4-8 on the season.

The first set was a back-and-forth display of good offense and defense. Queens faced set point down 24-22, but never wavered. After an error gave Queens the ball back, junior Victoria powered back-to-back kills to steal set point from the Mocs. An eventual error earned the first-set victory for the young squad. 

The second set followed suit of the first, as Queens battled and faced an opposing set point, trailing 24-20. Sophomore Alleigh Johnson put away the first of three consecutive kills for the Royals which cut the deficit to onen, before two errors once again stole set point. Queens' defense propelled them to a second-set victory, as a double block by Ellie Ackermann and Victoria Wood preceded a solo block by Kayla McDuffie which sealed the second set for Queens.

The third and fourth set was a continuous battle in which Tennessee at Chattanooga ultimately held the upper hand, forcing a fifth and deciding set. 

Queens got going early in the fifth set, as kills by Jordyn Johnson and Ellie Ackermann, followed by another solo block by "Duffie" propelled Queens ahead, 4-2. A pair of kills by A. Johnson helped extend the lead but was short-lived, as the Mocs fought back and tied the set at seven. McDuffie, who shined bright in her first start of the season, earned a kill and a block assist on consecutive points to pull ahead. 

Holding an 11-9 lead, Queens' offense pushed hard one last time to seal the deal, as the final four points were all earned on kills, capped off with a match-sealing kill by Victoria Wood.  


Coach's Words
"We weren't able to put much together in the first match of the day. Georgia Southern did a great job of pulling us away for offensive point scoring opportunities and we weren't able to find any rhythm. That being said the atmosphere was amazing and we learned a lot about what it takes to compete in that arena" said head coach Hannah Long on the team's performance against Georgia Southern.  

"I was very proud of how we responded against Chattanooga. The match required a lot of in-game adjustments which we've struggled with in the past. Our ability to settle ourselves and execute in the 5th set shows how much we are improving as a team" said coach Long on the team's performance against UT-Chattanooga."

By the Numbers

• Alleigh Johnson continues to pace the Royals' offense as she totaled 23 kills on the day, a team-high, including 15 against the Mocs.
• Jordyn Johnson's ability to play well on both sides of the ball were evident as she compiled 15 kills and 34 digs, including her fourth double-double of the season.
• Kayla McDuffie made her front-row presence felt in her first start of the season, as she totaled 12 kills and five total blocks (three solo), while garnering an efficient .346 hitting clip against UT-Chattanppga
• Jaianna Bouarouy dished out 46 assists between the two matches and added six kills. She has yet to record an attack error on the season and is hitting an astounding .737 on the season.
• The lone junior, Victoria Wood, finished with 13 kills on the day including a few a few very timely kills in the second match.

The Royals are back in action on Saturday, September 17 as they will take on St. Francis (PA) at 10 AM.