CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Royals look to put another conference win under their belt as they venture into the second half of their ASUN conference schedule, starting with weekend matches against Austin Peay (Oct. 20, 7 PM) and Lipscomb (Oct. 21, 7 PM) in Clarksville and Nashville. 
 

LAST TIME OUT...KEY STATS & NOTES

• The Royals held the Lions to their lowest amount of kills in a match since September, but eventually fell to North Alabama in three sets (23-25, 13-25, 18-25).
• With Jesse George out with an injury, freshman Tilley Collins has stepped into the libero uniform for the last two matches. Against North Alabama, Collins snagged 13 digs.
• Against the Lions, Victoria Wood and Jordyn Johnson led Queens with nine kills apiece. Kayla McDuffie finished with three blocks while setter Kendall Buish secured 28 assists.
• Going into the weekend, Jordyn Johnson still sits atop of the Royals with 189 digs. The junior has snagged seven double-doubles on the year and arguably one of Queens' most versatile on the court.
• Kendall Buish has claimed the top spot in assists all of the 2023 season. She has 580 total, and sits in sixth in the ASUN with 8.17 assists per set.
• Kayla McDuffie and Anna Law have been the Royals' main source of defense on the block with a combined 75 blocks total on the year.
• After completing half of the conference schedule, the Royals will face some of the tougher teams in the ASUN in the second half. FGCU, Lipscomb, North Florida, and Stetson all scatter the Queens schedule in the next two weeks. These squads each have claimed five or more conference wins.

SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY

• The Governors have had a tough go in the past few weeks, as Austin Peay has suffered a four-match losing streak with some of the better squads in the league with FGCU, Stetson, EKU, and Bellarmine.
• The Governors have lost 12 of the last 13 sets played, snagging a set against Stetson on Oct. 14.
• Austin Peay snagged two conference wins in September. The 'Govs swept Central Arkansas on the 24th and took Jacksonville to five sets on the 30th.
• Despite leading the squad in total kills on the year (281), Mikayla Powell was struck with an injury within the past two weeks and has been listed as day-to-day.

SCOUTING LIPSCOMB

• Lipscomb stands as one of the most competitive teams in the ASUN with a 7-1 record. The Bison's only loss comes from the FGCU Eagles in a five-set battle.
• The Bison scatter the ASUN statistical leaderboard. Sophia Hudepohl, three-time ASUN Setter of the Week winner in 2023 thus far, stands as the league leader in assists averaging 10.1 per set.
• Meg Mersman is tied for seventh in the ASUN with a .329 hitting percentage and also sits in seventh in blocks averaging .92 per set.
• Delaney Smith and Cora her Kuile sit within the rankings of the service ace category in second and fifth place, respectively. Smith also sits in ninth in digs per set with 3.82.

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