FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing non-conference play, the Queens College volleyball team welcomed the Setters of Pace University to Flushing to open a four-match homestand on Tuesday evening.
After Queens took a 1-0 first set lead, the visitors would take a 2-1 advantage before the Knights forced the deciding fifth set for the second straight match. But it would be the Setters who would emerge victorious over the Knights as they took a 3-2
(Set Scores: 25-23, 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 11-15) five-set win in Flushing.
With the loss, the Knights move to 6-2 on the season as Queens saw a four-match win streak come to an end.
Match Eight vs. Pace (Set Scores: 25-23, 23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 11-15)
In a match that saw 31 ties and 15 lead changes, it would be a back-and-forth affair against the Setters.
The first set saw both teams exchange points in the early going, but with the Knights trailing 9-8, a kill from sophomore
Lindsay Osterhoudt (Orlando, FL) would start a 4-0 run as Queens took a 12-9 lead.
But the Setters would once again start to fight back as they cut the Knights advantage down to 19-18 before a kill from sophomore
Kendall Conrad (Carolltown, PA) gave the Knights a commanding lead of 24-18 lead and one point from taking a 1-0 match lead.
However, Pace refused to go away as they used a 5-0 run to get within one, 24-23 before a kill from senior
Alexis Deodat (Tampa Bay, FL) put the Knights up 1-0 for a 25-23 first set victory.
In the second set, the Knights came out sluggish as the visitors jumped ahead 10-3 forcing head coach
Stefan Leger to use both of their timeouts to stop the Setters's momentum.
The Knights would crawl back to tie the second set on various occasions, however with Pace hitting .351 in the second set, they would tie the match 1-1 with a 25-23 second set victory.
The start of the third set would be another identical start of the second set as Queens trailed 9-3 before the Knights went on a 3-0 run to get within three, 9-6.
After the Setters took a 17-10, Queens used a 4-0 run to cut their deficit down to 17-14 forcing a Pace timeout.
The timeout would slow the home side's momentum as Pace ended the third set on a 7-3 run for a 2-1 match lead with a 25-17 third set victory.
To start the fourth set, the sophomore duo of Conrad and Osterhoudt gave the Knights an early 2-0 lead before the Setters used a 6-0 run to jump ahead 6-2.
But a Setters service error would help the Knights start a 3-0 run as Conrad recorded back-to-back kills to get the Knights within one, 6-5.
As Pace used two different runs to build a gap, junior
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.) would record back-to-back kills before a Setters attacking error tied the fourth set at 14-14.
With Queens tying the fourth set late at 20-20, a 2-0 run by the Setters gave them a 22-20 advantage forcing a Knights timeout.
Using the timeout to their advantage, Conrad and Deodat would combine to help the Knights tie the fourth at 22-22 before Pace used a timeout of their own to stop the Knights momentum.
But Conrad would not let the stoppage of play stop her as she recorded a service ace to give the Knights a 23-22 lead.
However as Pace burned their last timeout, they would use the stoppage of play to tie the fourth set at 23-23 as they looked to earn a 3-1 victory.
But Franco would record her fifth kill of the fourth set to put the Knights up 24-23 and one point away from forcing a fifth set for the second straight match.
For the final point of the fifth set, both teams would start a rally before a kill from
Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece) gave the Knights a 25-23 fourth set victory and tied the match at 2-2.
With the decider tied at 1-1, Pace used a 3-0 run to take a 4-1 lead before junior
Alicia Cervera (Valencia, Spain) and Conrad combined for a 3-0 run of their own to tie the set at 4-4.
Playing their second straight fifth setter of the season and a consecutive decider against their non-conference foe in back-to-back seasons, both teams answered each other with runs of their own as the fifth set saw eight ties and four lead changes.
After Franco and Osterhoudt combined with back-to-back kills to take a 9-8 lead, It would be the Setters who used a final run of 7-2 to end the Knights four-match win streak as Queens dropped their second match of the season 3-2 with a 15-11 fifth set loss.
Match Highlights
- Franco recorded her third straight double-double of the season with a season-high 17 kills and 10 digs.
- The junior fell one kill shy of tying her career-high of 18 kills which came against the Setters back on November 9, 2021.
- Conrad fell short of her third career double-double as the sophomore notched 14 kills to go with nine digs and three blocks.
- Cervera notched nine kills and a season-high 12 digs to go with two service aces.
- While Deodat recorded eight kills to go with a season-high six blocks (season-high five solo blocks) and Osterhoudt notched seven kills and tied a season-high four blocks on the evening.
- Boudouris tallied her third straight 40-plus assist performance and eighth of her career with a match-high 44 assists to go with seven digs, two service aces, and three kills.
- While sophomore Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) matched a career-high 22 digs for the third straight match to go with six assists.
- Sophomore Isabella Anzalone (Long Island City, N.Y.) made her home debut after missing all of last season recovering from an injury.
Next Match: Head Coach
Stefan Leger and the Knights continue the homestand on Saturday (Sept. 16) afternoon as they welcome the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University to town for a non-conference matchup. The first serve is set for noon.
Follow the Knights
All home games will be live-streamed on the
ECC Sports Network and fans can follow along on
live stats as well.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's volleyball (qcknightsvb).
