Aiken, S.C.----The seventh-seeded Queens University Royals erased a 2-0 deficit Friday afternoon, defeating second-seeded Wingate University 3-2 in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Southeast regionals. The Royals won by scores of 23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-17 and 15-10 to improve to 21-9 overall, advancing to Saturday's regional semifinals. Wingate ends its season at 29-6 overall.
Meredith Jones led the Queens attack with 20 kills.
Alex Thompson added nine kills, while
Rebecca Cochran had seven kills and 20 digs.
Jessica Raines also had seven kills for the Royals.
Sydney Kunz handed out 38 assists, while
Megan Mancini collected 30 digs.
Sophomore outside hitter
Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) had 16 kills and 10 digs to lead the Wingate attack. Senior right-side hitter
Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) added 11 kills and 11 digs, while junior outside hitter
Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) contributed eight kills. Sophomore middle blocker
Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) had seven kills for the Bulldogs. Freshman setter
Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) had 36 assists and 14 digs, while classmate
Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) collected 34 digs.
An Alles block gave Wingate an early 6-3 lead in set one, but a Jones kill put the Royals on top 8-7. Three consecutive Bulldog errors put Queens on top 13-9, but a 5-0 run gave Wingate a one-point edge. Attaway started the spurt with a kill, while Holmquist followed with two blocks and a kill. A kill and an ace from Attaway put the 'Dogs on top by two, but two Wingate errors tied it at 21. A Saehler kill and Bludau ace put Wingate on top 23-21, while a
Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) block made it 24-22. A Queens error ended the first set.
A Jones kill gave Queens a 9-3 lead in the second set, while a Bulldog error made it 12-5. Back-to-back Bludau kills, along with a Saehler kill got Wingate within three, while an Attaway kill and back-to-back Bludau aces tied it at 15. A Thompson kill put the Royals back on top by two, but a Holmquist kill and two Saehler aces gave the 'Dogs a 19-18 advantage. Three consecutive Wingate errors gave Queens a 21-19 lead, but the Bulldogs countered with a 6-0 run to end the frame. Kills from Attaway and Holmquist put the 'Dogs on top 22-21, while back-to-back Queens errors made it 24-21. Ortiz ended the set with a kill.
Back-to-back Wingate errors gave Queens a 9-7 lead in set three, but a kill from Alles sparked a 3-0 Bulldog run to give Wingate a 10-9 advantage. Kills from Saehler and Attaway made it 13-10, while another Attaway kill gave the Bulldogs a 16-13 advantage. A Jones kill and two Wingate errors tied it at 16, while a Thompson block gave the Royals a 19-18 lead. Wingate tied it at 19 on a Queens error, but a Cochran kill and two Thompson kills gave the Royals a 23-19 lead. Jones finished the set with a kill.
A Jones kill gave Queens a 7-4 lead in set four, but four consecutive errors from the Royals gave the Bulldogs an 11-10 advantage. A pair of Thompson kills put the Royals on top 16-13, but a Queens error and Ortiz ace got the 'Dogs within a point. Queens responded with a 6-0 run, taking a 22-15 advantage on five consecutive Wingate errors. An ace from Kunz made it 24-16, while a Wingate error ended the frame.
Kills from Saehler, Holmquist and Attaway gave the Bulldogs an early 4-1 lead in set five, but Queens scored the next six points, taking a 7-4 lead with Jones collecting four kills in the flurry. A Holmquist kill made it 7-5, but two Cochran kills gave the Royals an 11-6 advantage. A kill from Raines made it 14-8, while a Kunz kill ended the match.
Queens hit .119 on the day, with 49 kills and 26 errors in 194 attacks. Wingate had 51 kills and a season-high 40 errors, hitting .054 on the match, the second-lowest hitting percentage of the year. Mather led the Bulldogs with three blocks, while Bludau had three of Wingate's eight aces.
