HAMMOND, Ind. - The Quincy University women's volleyball team traveled north to Purdue University Northwest for the 2023 Midwest Region Crossover. The Hawks won both of their matches on day one, taking down GLIAC conference foe, the Rangers of Wisconsin-Parkside, in four sets (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 27-25) along with GMAC opponent, the Eagles of Ashland University via three set sweep (25-19, 25-14, 27-25). 

Match One vs Wisconsin-Parkside 

Set One: 

Quincy used two Ranger errors along with blocks from Luna Van Baars, Erin Matzke and a kill and block from Emma Wijnbergen to take a 5-2 lead. Shortly after at 10-9, five straight QU points spread the advantage to six at 15-9. A kill from Wijnbergen along with two UWP errors and back-to-back aces from Brianna Merkel supplied the run. 

The Hawks held a comfortable lead until Parkside used a four-point run at 20-14 to draw back within two. The Rangers took five of the next seven points to hold a narrow 23-22 lead before Quincy responded with two kills from Susanna Beretti and a UWP error to take the first set 25-23. 

Set Two: 

After falling behind 2-1 in the early going, QU took 12 of the next 14 points to open a huge 13-4 lead heading into the middle of the set. Later in the set, up 17-10, Quincy used a five-point run to bust the set wide open at 22-10. 

The Hawks rolled on to a 25-15 winner in the second set, using kills from Van Baars and Beretti, along with a Parkside error to close out the set. 

Set Three: 

Knotted up at 3-3, Quincy took eight of the next 10 points to open up a six-point advantage at 11-5. The Hawks pressed the lead to double digits shortly after at 19-9, prompting a big run from the Rangers. 

UWP took 10 of the next 12 points to roar back to within two at 21-19. Another QU point on a kill from Beretti resupplied the lead to three before a Parkside run of three made it 22-22 heading down the stretch. The Rangers took three of the next four points to close out a major comeback in the third set 25-23. 

Set Four: 

Once again, the Hawks jumped out to another early advantage, nabbing six of the first nine to lead 6-3. Shortly after at 9-8, Quincy used a three-point run to pres the lead back to four at 11-7. UWP responded, taking seven of the next nine to take its first lead of the set at 14-13. 

QU fired back with five straight points of its own to regain the advantage 18-14. The Rangers fought back to a 21-20 lead heading down the stretch. The Hawks held their ground in the clutch, taking leads at 24-23 and 25-24, before taking the final two points of the match on kills from Alice Pavan and Van Baars to round out a 27-25 win in the set and 3-1 match victory. 

Match Two vs Ashland

Set One: 

QU dominated the Eagles in the first set, outhitting its opponent by over .150 in the frame. In similar fashion to the first match of the day, the Hawks led early, opening a 9-3 advantage in the early going. AU fought its way back to within two at 12-10 and continued to hang within two later in the set at 21-19. 

A kill from Matzke followed by three straight kills from Wijbergen slammed the door down the stretch, hand Quincy a 25-19 winner in the first set. 

Set Two: 

Ashland took the initiative in the second frame, pressing an early 4-1 lead. QU answered with a seven-point run to move ahead 8-4, a lead it would never give back. The Eagles hung around but never drew closer than three points for the remainder of the set in a convincing 25-14, double digit victory in the second set. 

The Hawks hit an absurd .500 as a team in the frame, outhitting the opposition by nearly .350 points with just two errors in a big second set victory. 

Set Three: 

QU trailed, once again, in the early going of the third set at 8-6, before taking seven of the next eight points to press a four-point lead at 13-9. The Hawks continued to press the advantage, using a three-point run shortly after to make it 17-11. 

AU got right back to work, drawing within one later in the set at 21-20, even taking a short-lived lead in the later stages of the set at 24-23. A kill from Wijnbergen locked the set at 24-24, before a Quincy error forced set point at 25-24.

The Hawks proved their metal down the stretch, taking the final three points of the match on an AU error, a kill from Van Baars and a service ace from Amber Glen to close out a 27-25 set victory and 3-0 sweep of Ashland. 

Quincy is back in action again tomorrow, Saturday (Oct. 14) playing its final match of the Midwest Region Crossover at 2:00 PM.