CARROLLTON, GA. — The Royals took on the West Georgia Wolves in a four-set battle at The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga. and took home the 3-1 win (25-22, 25-23, 19-25, 25-15) on Thursday, Oct. 3 to push them to a 5-9 overall record and 2-1 in ASUN play.
SET-BY-SET RECAP
Queens started strong, jumping to an early lead with kills from Jordyn Johnson and Emma Norris. West Georgia briefly took the lead at 5-4, but Queens quickly regained control, thanks to consistent offensive contributions from Alleigh Johnson and Anna Grace Sparks. Despite West Georgia narrowing the gap with Marley Staats and Zoë LaBreche on the attack, Queens held on to win 25-22, aided by four errors from West Georgia.
The second set was fiercely competitive, featuring nine ties and multiple lead changes. Queens' offense was powered by Jordyn Johnson and Sparks, while West Georgia responded with attacks from LaBreche and Staats. Key blocks from Kayla McDuffie and Sparks helped Queens pull ahead late, and despite a final surge by West Georgia, Queens won the set 25-23, taking a 2-0 lead.
West Georgia found momentum in the third set with the help of Alex Strating and Staats. LaBreche and Staats were key contributors to West Georgia's offense and aided in the 25-19 win, extending the match to a fourth set.
Queens dominated the fourth set, using a combination of good offense and West Georgia errors. Norris and Alleigh Johnson contributed key kills while Sparks' serving and blocking from McDuffie and Ellis Sargent kept West Georgia under pressure. Queens pulled ahead quickly and maintained the lead throughout, winning the set comfortably 25-15 and securing the match 3-1.
HEAD COACH HANNAH LONG'S QUOTE
"We really executed important parts of our game plan tonight," Long said. "I was especially pleased to see a solid offensive distribution with serval hitters with double digit kills. Throughout the match our blocking and serving came through at important times. It was a solid team win."
POST-MATCH NOTES
- The match saw the Royals post a dominating 18 kills in the first set.
- Alleigh Johnson, Jordyn Johnson, and Emma Norris all put up double-digit kills on the night. Norris' 10 kills claimed a career-high for the redshirt freshman.
- Kayla McDuffie snagged six blocks on the night to lead through the match (two solo, four assisted).
- The win marks Queens' best start in conference play since they started 2-0 the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
The Royals head to Nashville to face the Bisons of Lipscomb in ASUN action with a 3:00 PM ET start on Saturday, Oct. 5.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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