JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Despite Queens dropping a season-high .238 hitting percentage, the Royals couldn't hold off the Dolphins of Jacksonville, falling to a 3-0 (16-25, 21-25, 23-25) score inside Swisher Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 6.
Crucial unanswered runs from Jacksonville's offense aided the squad in their first ASUN victory. The Dolphins (4-13, 1-4 ASUN) went on a six-point rally led by Anna Erickson and Alija Heins to go up 14-9 over the Royals (3-13, 0-4 ASUN) in the first set. A kill from Jordyn Johnson sliced their momentum, but another kill from Heins would start yet another run that would put the Dolphins up by nine, closing off the Royals en route to a 25-16 victory.
In the second, Jacksonville and Queens suffered a back-and-forth affair of 14 tie scores and four lead changes. A service error from the Dolphins would tie the set at six-all before back-to-back blocks from Callie DeSchryver, Victoria Wood, and Jordyn Johnson would give the Royals an 8-6 lead. Jacksonville would crawl back gradually, but Queens would recover point-by-point to soon put the score at an even 13.
Kendall Buish would dump a ball over to give the Royals a small 14-13 lead before three consecutive Dolphins kills held the score at 16-14. The Royals tallied a .423 hitting percentage in the frame, but would eventually fall by a 25-21 score.
In the third, action from both offenses was present — point-by-point. The third frame saw a whopping 15 tie-score moments as the each team battled for their first ASUN win. In the end, Jacksonville's 18-kill performance would be just enough for the 25-23 third set triumph.
Rookie Callie DeSchryver nabbed a career-high nine kills in the match as the Dallas, Texas native went nine-for-15, suffered only one error, and hit a .533. Kayla McDuffie also added nine kills while adding two blocks.
Setter Kendall Buish added a team-leading 19 assists on the night while Jesse George dug up 18.
For Jacksonville, Erickson finished with 17 kills. Rebecca Rocassin put up 44 assists while Kristina Nike led the Dolphins with 15 digs.
Up next, the Royals stay in Florida to face the Ospreys of North Florida for a 6:00 PM start on Saturday, Oct. 7.
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