CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- Anna Gibbs posted a match-high 14 kills to lead the Queens University of Charlotte women's volleyball team to a straight-set victory over visiting Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas play on Tuesday afternoon.
Queens (20-11, 14-2 CC) won the match by scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-17, posting a .316 hitting percentage while limiting Lees-McRae (12-16, 8-8 CC) to a .110 clip on the attack. The Royals recorded 48 digs and 44 kills in the match, adding seven blocks while holding the Bobcats to 27 smashes and four blocks.
Taylor Clendenin (Statesville, N.C.) paced the Bobcats with 10 kills, as Haydn Beatty (Norman, Okla.) and Rachel Grether (Ocala, Fla.) added six and five smashes, respectively. Sariah Suryadevara (Cincinnati, Ohio) chipped in eight digs, while Taylor Pritchett (Apex, N.C.) and Megan Mitchell (Minden, Nev.) recorded 14 and 10 assists, respectively.
Gibbs led the way for Queens with a contest-best 14 kills, posting a .591 hitting percentage in the match as Taylor Riley chipped in a double-double with match-highs of 38 assists and 14 digs. Tori Hernandez and Keri Kemp added eight and seven kills, respectively, while Brittney Barren recorded 10 digs.
Queens jumped out to an early lead in the first set, opening a 9-5 advantage before Lees-McRae trimmed the margin to 10-9 on a Clendenin smash to cap a 4-1 spurt. The Royals would answer with an 8-3 run, pushing the lead to 18-12 following a solo block by Lindsey Everhart. Lees-McRae countered with a 6-2 spurt, closing the gap to 20-18 before Queens capped the set with a 5-2 run of its own.
The Royals carried the momentum into the second, taking an early 12-5 lead before Lees-McRae responded with a 6-2 run, closing the gap to 14-11 following a Queens miscue. After Queens answered with a 5-1 spurt and the Bobcats countered with three straight points to trim the margin to 19-15, the Royals responded with a 6-2 run to cap the set and take a 2-0 advantage in the match on a Bobcat miscue.
Queens continued its strong play in the third, opening a 12-6 advantage on a Gibbs smash before pushing the margin to 20-12 with a 4-0 run. After Lees-McRae cut the lead to 23-17 following a Royals miscue, Queens countered with back-to-back points to close out the set and the match.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Saturday when the Bobcats make the trip to Charlotte to take on Queens in the quarterfinal round of the Conference Carolinas Tournament at 2 p.m.
- LMC -
