CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In a battle of two teams looking for their first victory of conference play, the Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team defeated Central Arkansas 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-23). With the win, Queens improved to 4-15 overall and 1-7 in ASUN play as Central Arkansas fell to 6-13 and 0-7 in conference play. The Royals were without their veteran libero, Jesse George, as she missed her first match of the season due to injury.
SET RECAP
In the first set, Queens came out firing as they took an early lead into the media timeout and never looked back. Kendall Buish led the way with 12 assists and a service ace while Kayla McDuffie led the way with five kills. The Royals led the set wire-to-wire as there were no ties nor lead changes during the first set.
The second set was an all-out battle as there were 13 ties and seven lead changes before the Royals took the 25-22 set victory. Victoria Wood and Jordyn Johnson dominated the set as both entered the third set with nine kills apiece. Buish also added 15 more assists in the set to up her total to 26 at that point in the match. Libero Tilley Collins stepped up with 12 digs after the first two sets.
Similar to the second set, neither team could pull away in the third set as the Bears fought desperately to keep the match alive and took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. After the Royals lost a challenge and the Bears took a timeout, Central Arkansas led 22-21 needing only three points to keep the match alive. However, the Royals rallied to win the set 25-23, thwarting their seven-match losing streak.
In the absence of George, Tilley Collins led the way with 19 digs and were one of two Royals who finished with double-digit digs. Victoria Wood led the attack with 13 kills and a .423 hit percentage. Kendall Buish dominated the assist category with 42 assists which was the most of the match on either side.
TURNING POINT
After leading wire-to-wire in the first set, the Royals dealt with a much stronger fight from the Bears in the second set — 13 ties and seven lead changes — before the Royals took control late in the set with four of the final five points, taking a commanding two-set lead.
KEY STATS AND NOTES
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Queens won the first setof a match for the first time since sweeping Duquesne on September 16.
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Collins set a season-high with 19 digs.
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Wood recorded double-digit kills for the third time this season with 13.
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Wood had her most efficient match of the season with a .423 hit percentage.
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J. Johnson recorded her seventh double-double of the season and third of conference play with 13 kills and 10 digs.
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On the match, there were 30 ties and 12 lead changes.
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On the block, McDuffie snagged three while Anna Law picked up two of her own.
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The win against Central Arkansas tabs the Royals' second sweep of the season.
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For the Bears, Laci Bohanan led the way with 23 kills while Alexis McDaniels had 20 digs.
WORDS FROM COACH LONG
"As a team, we have been working really hard and the score doesn't always reflect that," Long said. "It was nice to see those efforts equal a win. I thought Kendall [Buish] set a phenomenal match and when you see high-quality hitting, it is because of high-quality passing.
UP NEXT
The Royals remain home this weekend as they host North Alabama on Sunday, October 15th at 1:00 PM. The Royals have faced the Lions twice previously and fell short each time as North Alabama defeated Queens in four sets last season and in three sets in 2011.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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