BLACKSBURG, VA. — A night after giving Virginia Tech a tough battle, the Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team beat Duquesne in three sets (25-21, 27-25, 25-19) to finish the Virginia Tech Tournament with a victory. Jordyn Johnson led the Royals with 12 kills and 40 total attacks while Alleigh Johnson tallied 10 kills and 32 total attacks.
With the victory, Queens improves to 3-8 on the season while Duquesne falls to 5-3. The victory is the first three-set victory on the season for the Royals and the first overall victory since they beat Northern Illinois 3-2 to finish the Davidson Tournament on September 2.
After falling behind early, Queens finished the first set strong with a 25-21 victory. The Royals were particularly impressive serving the ball as they had four service aces compared to Duquesne's sole ace. Throughout the entire match, Queens cumulated 10 service aces while Duquesne only produced four.
Queens defeated Duquesne in a tight second set, 27-25. The Royals were more offensively efficient than the Dukes, as the Royals hit a .205 compared to Duquesne's .167. The Royals also put up three more kills than the Dukes in the frame, and had five blocks in the set compared to Duquesne's three.
The third set sealed the deal for the Royals, snagging a 25-19 score. The Royals finished the final frame with an aggressive 18 kills compared to Duquesne's eight as well as tabbing a solid .295 hitting percentage. Once again, the Royals led the way in the serving department as they had four aces with only two service errors. The Dukes had two aces and four errors while serving the ball in the finale.
Along with A. Johnson and J. Johnson; Kendall Buish, Anna Law, and Anna Grace Sparks all had strong individual performances. Buish led the Royals with 35 assists, and a .250 hitting percentage — including two kills and one ace. Law also had a .250 hitting percentage on 16 total attacks with six kills. Law led the team with five total blocks. Tacking on to her solid debut from the night prior, Sparks helped get her first win on the court with a commendable eight kills and a solo block.
"Overall we had a solid weekend and took some steps forward as a team," Queens Head Coach Hannah Long said. "We got solid contributions from several members of our team which was great to see. With only one more non-conference match before the start of ASUN play, this was an important win."
The Royals return home for their final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday, September 19th as Queens hosts Gardner-Webb. It will be the first matchup between the Royals and Bulldogs since 1999 when Gardner-Webb beat Queens in three sets.
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