GAFFNEY, S.C. – Returning home from a long road swing, the Limestone University women's volleyball team got stellar performances all the way around the rotation, including a pair of double-doubles, in a 3-0 sweep of regionally-ranked Queens University of Charlotte on Friday, November 5, at the Timken Center.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 3, Queens (N.C.) 0
Set Scores: 25-22, 25-13, 25-23
Records: Limestone (9-11, 6-9), Queens (N.C.) (14-11, 9-7)
Location: Timken Center
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
 

• Senior Bailey Carpenter (Lawrenceville, Ga.) reached 1,000 career digs with 21 on the night
• Freshman Paige Gardella (Sugar Grove, Ill.) posted a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs
• Senior Madysen Williams (Antioch, Tenn.) tallied a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs
• Senior Vanessa Blas (Concord, N.C.) registered 10 kills and a whooping .500 attack percentage
• Freshman Josie Curran (Westerville, Ohio) also logged 10 kills to go with three assisted blocks
• Senior Gabby Wessels (Watseka, Ill.) finished with 12 digs and two assists
• Junior Abbey Baker (York, S.C.) just missed a double-double with 17 assists and nine digs
• Senior Madeline Yeager (Sacramento, Calif.) added six assisted blocks and five kills
• Senior Madyson Lousignont (Las Vegas, Nev.) chipped in two kills, two aces, and three digs
• Junior Leilani Wilcox Nanai (Christchurch, New Zealand) recorded five kills and three digs
• Limestone hit .240 as a team, including a .484 clip in the second set, and held Queens to .164

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
First Set
 
After Queens took an early 2-1 lead to start the night, a kill by Yeager and a huge swing from Curran sparked a 6-3 spurt to give the Blue and Gold a 7-5 advantage. The Royals responded with three quick points to regain the lead, but a kill from Williams and an ace from Lousignont put Limestone in front, 9-8.
 
The visitors would answer with a 6-0 counterattack, however, to push ahead 14-9 a few ticks later, but an incredible run of four consecutive aces by Gardella powered a 13-4 overall run to give Limestone a 22-18 cushion. Curran tallied three kills for the Saints during that stretch while Blas had a pair of massive blasts.
 
Queens cut the margin to two points on a couple of different occasions – 23-21 and 24-22 – late in the opening set, but a kill from Williams ended things to give Limestone a 1-0 match lead with a 25-22 win.
 
Second Set
 
A cross-court kill from Yeager helped Limestone split the first four points of set number two before a rare kill by Carpenter off a dig highlighted a long 18-8 run to stake the home team to a 20-10 lead. Williams led the surge for the Saints with five kills while Yeager and Curran combined for consecutive assisted blocks.
 
The Royals would string together points for the first time in the frame, using a quick 3-0 mini-run to cut the margin to 20-13, but another kill from Williams followed by two assisted blocks and a solo stop by Yeager allowed the Blue and Gold to close out the set comfortably, 25-13, to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
 
Third Set
 
Queens jumped out to a 3-1 lead early in the third set, but an assisted block by Blas and Yeager and kills from Curran and Lousignont allowed the Saints to even things up at 5-all. An attack by Williams and an ace from Lousignont would start a 4-1 run before Yeager punctuated the span with a massive kill to make it 10-8 in favor of the Saints. The Royals answered with a 4-1 spurt of their own to retake the lead, 12-11.
 
Despite kills from Curran, which tied the game at 12, and Wilcox Nanai, which put the Saints in front by one, the back-and-forth would continue as neither team could establish control with the set tied at 17-all in the late stages. A very long rally won by Queens seemed to turn the momentum as the visitors moved in front, 21-18, but Limestone came storming back behind kills from Curran and Blas to tie the set at 21-all.
 
An assisted block by Yeager and Curran gave the Saints a 22-21 edge before a serving error from the Royals and a service ace by Carpenter put the home team at set point, 24-22. Queens got back to within a point, but Limestone applied the finishing touches on the 3-0 sweep with a perfectly placed kill by Blas.   
 
TURNING POINT
 
Trailing 14-9 in the opening set, a string of four consecutive aces by Gardella got the Limestone offense rolling as a 13-4 run secured the set win. The Saints then ran away in the middle frame before once again rallying in the late stages of set number three, taking the 3-0 sweep by closing out the match on a 7-2 run.
 
NOTABLES
 

• Limestone split the season series with the Royals, avenging a five-set loss from earlier in the year
• The Saints recorded their first win over Queens since a 3-0 sweep on October 27, 2012
• Carpenter entered tonight's match with 980 career digs and finished the night with 1,001
• Gardella tallied her second double-double over the last three matches and has six on the season
• Williams also posted her sixth double-double of the year
• Blas hit a season-best .500 after posting 10 kills on 20 attacks with no errors on the night
• Yeager had her best night at the net this season, registering seven total blocks

 
UP NEXT
 
The Saints will close out their 2021 home schedule when they host Lincoln Memorial University for Senior Day on Saturday, November 6, at 2 p.m.
 
Limestone will recognize 10 student-athletes prior to tomorrow's match: Calleen Soper (Morris, Ill.), Sydney Bibby (Cumming, Ga.), Morgan Hnatiuk (Weeki Wachee, Fla.), Vanessa Blas (Concord, N.C.), Madyson Lousignont (Las Vegas, Nev.), Abbey Baker (York, S.C.), Bailey Carpenter (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Madeline Yeager (Sacremento, Calif.), Catherine Hickey (Des Plaines, Ill.), and former player and current graduate assistant coach Zaria Walker (Southfield, Mich.).