CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team opened up the annual Queens Fall Classic with a 3-1 victory over William & Mary (31-29, 25-17, 9-25, 25-16) before battling a tough Davidson squad in a five-set thriller in the nightcap (10-25, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22, 10-15).
Queens, led by the trio of Kayla McDuffie (11 kills, .381 hitting), Jordyn Johnson (13 kills), and Anna Grace Sparks (16 kills), pulled away at crucial moments to clinch the set 31-29. Setter Kendall Buish dished out 44 assists throughout the match, with many key ones in the first frame. William & Mary's Maddie Meyers finished with 22 kills, including six in the first set, but Queens held firm, forcing several errors from their opponents late to take the early set victory.
Queens continued their momentum in the second set, racing out to an early lead they would not relinquish. Their efficient hitting led by Sparks allowed them to take a 25-17 second-set win. Queens hit .400 in the set with 16 kills on 35 attempts, while their defense, anchored by 67 total digs, limited William & Mary's offense to just a .103 hitting percentage.
Facing a possible straight-set defeat, William & Mary came out firing in the third set to take a 25-9 win. Meyers was the leader of the Tribe, registering eight kills and contributing to the Tribe's strong .462 hitting percentage.
In the final set, Queens quickly shook off third-set struggles to put the match away, winning 25-16. Queens hit .382 as a team in this set and applied pressure at the net with nine blocks in total for the match. Key service runs from Sparks and Jesse George, who had 19 digs, helped keep William & Mary from finding a rhythm.
"I thought we serve-received phenomenally well, and that shows up in the middles' hitting percentage," Head Coach Hannah Long said after the first match. "It was an overall great team win. Jordyn [Johnson] was great today…she has been trying to gain confidence on her offense. She did a great job adjusting and staying mentally engaged in the game."
In the nightcap, Queens forced a talented Davidson squad to five sets. The Wildcats took home a convincing first-set win, keeping Queens to only 10 points in the set. Queens pushed back in the second set as their attack percentage rose to .122, but Davidson's steady defense kept Queens from gaining momentum.
In the third, Queens fired back to take the victory by a score of 25-18. The Royals squad posted 15 kills with a .239 hitting percentage, their highest of the match. Kayla McDuffie and Alleigh Johnson led the way on offense, and Queens' defense tightened — holding Davidson to just .105 hitting.
In the hotly contested fourth set, Queens refused to go down without a fight. Queens mounted a strong comeback, winning 25-22. This set saw six ties and five lead changes, as both teams battled tough. Queens executed their attack with a .324 hitting percentage, including J. Johnson and McDuffie played pivotal roles on the offense. Emma Norris added four crucial blocks en route to the victory.
In the final set, Davidson recovered to win 15-10 aided by a .391 hitting percentage. Queens took an early 3-2 lead with a kill from J. Johnson, but Davidson's Isabel Decker quickly responded, adding key kills. At 8-4, Davidson seized control, and despite Queens narrowing the gap to 12-9, Davidson pulled away to take a 3-2 overall win.
"[Davidson] came in with a lot of firepower and it took us a while to adjust," Long said. "We didn't find our footing until midway through the second set…going down 0-2, teams can have a variety of responses and I thought we responded tremendously well, forcing a fifth set."
UP NEXT
The Royals are back in action tomorrow, Sept 14 to close out the Queens Fall Classic against USC Upstate at 1:00 PM.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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