SCORE
Queens 3, Montevallo 1 (17-25, 25-18, 23-25, 12-25)
RECORDS
Montevallo (1-1)
Queens (1-1)
LOCATION
Levine Center (Charlotte, N.C.)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Montevallo bounced back from a 25-17 setback in the opening set to tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-18 victory in the second set, but Queens finished off the Falcons with a close 25-23 win in the third set and a 25-12 win in the final set.
The Royals opened the match with a 7-1 run, capped with a service ace by Rebecca Cochran, and held off a rally by the Falcons down the stretch to secure a 25-17 win in the frame. Montevallo tied the set at 12-12 with a kill by senior Briana Marquez before Queens went on a 7-0 run to take back momentum in the frame.
Montevallo got off to a fast start in the second frame, with a kill by sophomore Breana Thomas giving the Falcons a 4-1 advantage early in the set. Sophomore Grace Harris clinched the Falcons' 25-18 win in the frame with a kill to close out the set.
The Falcons used a late rally in the third set to close a 19-13 deficit to just two points at 24-22 following a kill by senior Rebekah Phelps, but the Royals took advantage of an error by Montevallo and closed out the frame with a kill by Cochran to clinch the 25-23 win in the set.
Montevallo kept it close through the early part of the fourth set, with a kill by Marquez trimming the Royals' lead to 11-9 in the frame. However, Queens closed out the set with a 13-2 run to clinch the match with a 25-12 win in the frame.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Montevallo was impressive defensively, with three Falcons recording double-digit digs in the match. Senior Carissa Bell led the way with 17 digs, while Harris registered 16 digs and Phelps finished with 15 digs.
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
The biggest difference in the match came with Queens' success in blocking the Montevallo attack. The Royals held a 12-1 block advantage over the Falcons.
Freshman Brie Blume was one of the bright spots for the Falcons as she recorded six kills in just her second collegiate match.
Montevallo recorded a .441 attack percentage in its 25-18 win in the second set. The Falcons' highest percentage in the three sets they dropped was a .047 mark in the third set.
UP NEXT
The Falcons return to action in the Queens University Invitational with a pair of matches against Lenoir-Rhyne and Mount Olive on Saturday, Sept. 5. Montevallo will face Lenoir-Rhyne at 12:45 p.m. Eastern/11:45 a.m. Central before capping the event with a match against Mount Olive at 5:15 p.m. Eastern/4:15 p.m. Central.
