DAVIDSON, N.C — The Queens Royals head right up the road to Davidson, N.C. to play against Davidson, UNC Wilmington, and Northern Illinois in a three-match campaign starting on Friday, Sep. 1. The Royals are coming straight off a non-conference 3-1 win over the Stonehill Skyhawks in the 2023 Eagle Classic in Morehead, Ky. — putting their current record at 1-2.
A Look Back from Last Week...
- The Royals are hoping their momentum from their 3-1 win over Stonehill on Aug. 26 carries into the Wildcat Classic, as Queens put up their highest single-set hitting percentage of the year with a .483 in the first set.
- To date, Alleigh Johnson leads the Royals squad with 26 total kills, including a 13-kill performance over USC Upstate on Aug. 25
- As a team, Queens is currently bolstering a .106 hitting percentage in three matches
- The Royals currently average 9.9 kills per set, slightly lower compared to 13.2 kills per set by their opponents.
- At the conclusion of the weekend, libero Jesse George's performance consisted of 36 digs, including a match-high 15 vs. USC Upstate on Aug. 25 which named her to the 2023 Eagle Challenge All-Tournament Team
QUEENS PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alleigh Johnson: Leads team with 26 kills and 31.5 points, played her most versatile game vs. Stonehill on Aug. 26 as the junior picked up five aces, 16 digs, a block, and 16.5 points against the Skyhawks, has started in all three matches of 2023
Kendall Buish: Two 30+ assist games vs. USC Upstate (38) and Stonehill (31), leads Royals with 83 total assists on the year thus far, ranks fourth in the ASUN in assists per set (7.55)
Kayla McDuffie: Leading the Royal block with 10 in three matches
Anna Law: Team-leader in hitting percentage with .340, starter in all three matches, averaging a second-team best 2.23 points per set
Scouting the Opponent: Davidson
2022 Season: 23-11, 14-4 in the Atlantic 10. Finished second in the conference in 2022, earned a bid to the National Invitiational Volleyball Championship (NIVC)
- Picked third in 2023 Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll
- Started the 2023 season 3-0 with wins over Le Moyne, College of Charleston, and West Virginia
- To date, Slusser leads the Wildcats with 31 kills, including a solid 16-kill performance over Charleston on Aug. 25
- Veteran coach Chris Willis returns 13 to his seasoned 'Cats squad, while adding three newcomers to the Wildcats lineup in 2023 - Melanie Tilles (MB), Mia Compas (MB), and Elena Garcia-Guerrios (OH)
WILDCAT PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Bella Brady: 2022 A-10 Libero of the Year, recorded 618 digs in 2023, earning the second-most digs recorded in Davidson program history
Isabel Decker: Six-foot junior who led the Wildcats in kills in the 2022 season with 171 kills; started in 32 of 34 matches as the squad's leading outside hitter
Emma Slusser: Reigning Atlantic 10 2022 Rookie of the Year, Ranked second on the team in overall kills with 285 as a freshman
Scouting the Opponent: Northern Illinois
2022 Season: 17-11, 10-8 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC)
- Ranked fifth in the MAC West Division Preseason Coaches Poll
- Sondra Parys takes the reigns as the Huskies' head coach for the 2023 season after spending the past five years as an assistant at conference opponent Loyola University Chicago.
- Parys is quite familiar with Queens: she was part of the coaching staff un the 2016-17 season when Queens won the Division II South Atlantic Conference Championship
- Northern Illinois returns nine players from a year ago while welcoming seven new faces- including six transfers and one true freshman.
- To date, the Huskies have struggled at the jump with an 0-3 record after falling to Chicago State and Illinois in the Huskie Invitational.
- Most recently, their second match against Chicago state ended in a 4-1 loss despite a 12-kill performance from standout returner Charlie Atiemo, who led the team in 2022 in hitting percentage (.358)
- the junior currently leads the squad in total blocks with 12, while ranking second on the team in overall kills in three matches with 35
- Nikolette Nedic has proven to be a valuable veteran in the early going for the Huskies, as the junior outside hitter leads the team in overall kills with 44 and put up a career-high 21 kills against Chicago State on Aug. 25
Scouting the Opponent: University of North Carolina - Wilmington
2022 Season: 6-19, 4-12 in the Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA). FInished the 2022 season with back-to-back wins over conference foe Hampton
- Ranked eleventh in CAA Preseason Coaches Poll
- Seahawk Katie Lanz named honorable mention in the 2023 Preseason All-CAA volleyball team
- Head Coach Dottie Hampton brings in three new Hawks to the 2023 arsenal - Carol de Oliveira (OH), Maris Grant (S), and A'siya Magazine (RS) and returns thirteen.
- The Seahawks have started the year on a 1-2 record after coming off a tough six-win campaign the year prior
- UNCW comes into the Wildcat Classic on a high note after defeating Presbyterian in a 3-0 sweep on Aug. 26, with Caitlyn Callahan leading the charge with 12 kills and four blocks at the net
- Grad transfer Charlotte Cronister leads the pack to date with 36 digs, while Callahan sits ahead with 24 kills and 10 blocks
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