Royals Advance to NCAA Southeast Regional Finals

Aiken, S.C.- The No. 7 seed Queens University of Charlotte volleyball team, 22-9 overall, defeated the third ranked team in the Southeast Region Flagler on Saturday, December 3, 2016. In their second five-set match of the tournament, Queens rallied to take the victory with a 22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 18-25, 15-13 score over the Saints who fell to 24-7 on the year.

As the Royals advance into the round of 16 for the NCAA Tournament, they again make history as the first women's team for Queens to reach the finals of the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships.

The Royals were aided in their win from their serving, tallying 10 service ace with only three errors. The Saints would find nine aces but suffered 13 errors off of serves in the match. Additionally, the Royals saw 18 kills come from Meredith Jones who led the team. Sydney Kunz tallied a double-double in the match with 49 assists, the team top in the category, and 17 digs. Megan Mancini secured 26 digs to lead the team while Rebecca Cochran tallied four service aces to tie Sara Davis from Flagler with the most on the floor.

Davis additionally led Flagler in kills with 19. Tara Savisky found 52 assists in the match while Kayla Norelli tabbed 33 digs. Two Saints tallied double-doubles as Savisky added 14 digs to her night. Taja Valmyr tabbed 23 digs and 11 kills.

Queens led early in the first set going up 7-4 with a block from Jessica Raines. Flagler battled to come within one at 10-9, but the Royals push forward with back-to-back kills coming from both Cochran and Alex Thompson, 14-10. Queens maintained their lead finding key plays to keep the Saints from tying the game until the very end. A five point run switched the flow of the , giving Flagler the win.

Flagler started with a narrow lead in the second set, 7-5, but Queens took over at 10-8. The set switched leaders again after a three unanswered put the Saints ahead 13-11. However, Queens secured the last momentum switch of the set shortly after with a 5-0 run, 17-14. Despite pressure at the end from Flagler, Queens closed the game and evened the match with a kill from Thompson.

A 6-2 start put Queens up early in set three. The team continued to climb reaching a 10-4 score giving themselves space in the set. Flagler managed to come within one, 12-11, but Queens responded with two points to keep the Saints at bay. As the set progressed, a 5-0 run finally saw the Royals drop the lead 18-17, forcing both teams to battle in the contested game until the end of the set. With just a one point lead, 23-22, Julia Forbes moved the team to set point before Cochran served an unreturnable ball for the win.

Set four was even until a 7-0 run moved Flagler ahead in the set, 14-8. Queens halted the run with a kill by Henry but the Saints added three more to make the game 17-9. The Royals added points back to their side but would be unable to recover as the match moved into its fifth set.

The deciding set was even through a 5-5 score before Queens found a slight lead with the next two points. Flagler sat just a point off the Royals eventually finding the tie at 10-10. With back-to-back kills, Jones forced the Saints to use a timeout call before Jones and Henry tallied the team's third point in a row, with a block coming out of the break. Flagler again came within one point but Queens rallied finding the win off a hit towards the back line from Jones for the match win.

Queens will play the winner between the top team in the region, USC-Aiken, and the region's No. 4 team, Armstrong State. The game will be played tomorrow at 4 p.m.