KINGSVILLE, Tx. - A year removed from their record breaking campaign, the Quincy University Women's Volleyball Team started off their 2023 season taking three out of four contests in the TAMUK Tournament. Four matches in a two day span saw the Hawks square off with Tiffin University and New Mexico Highlands University on day one and Colorado State University Pueblo along with host Texas A&M University - Kingsville on day two. 

Match One vs Tiffin

Set One:

The Hawks won the first three points of the 2023 season thanks to two errors from Tiffin and a kill from Luna Van Baars to jump out in front in the early going. 

Down 8-7, Tiffin took four straight points to make it 11-8 and open the lead of any real size in the set. Shortly after, the Hawks even the score at 13-13, taking three straight points on two kills from Emma Wijnbergen and a kill for Susanna Beretti. 

Quincy gained the lead once more at 17-16 thanks to another error from the Dragons and a kill from Alice Pavan. Down the stretch TU turned it on, taking nine of the final 12 points to hand QU a set loss to open the season. 

Set Two: 

After losing grasp of the set down the stretch in the previous frame, the Hawks took advantage of some miscues by their opponent to open a large lead to start the second stanza. 

Quincy scored seven of the first eight points of the match on five Tiffin attacking errors, two of which forced by blocks from Wijbergen, Van Baars and Erin Matzke and two more kills from Wijnbergen to make it 7-1. 

The Dragons got right back into it, working their way back to within two at 9-7. 

QU responded, taking seven of the next eight points to double up TU at 16-8. Two kills and an ace from Pavan along with a kill from Matzke and more errors from Tiffin fueled the run. 

In contrast to the previous set, this time it was the Hawks who stepped on the pedal down the stretch. Extending the lead to as many as 12 points at 22-10 in the late going, the Hawks cruised to a 25-16 win in the second set, capped off by a kill and an ace from Wijnbergen to close it out and even the match at one a piece. 

Set Three: 

QU pushed the issue once again in the early stages of the set, opening a 5-1 advantage on two kills from Wijnbergen, along with three errors from Tiffin and a couple blocks for Matzke and Wijnbergen. 

TU found their way back into the match, later knotting things up at 9-9. Quincy pulled ahead once more at 15-12 on kills from Wijnbergen and Beretti along with an error. 

Tiffin tied it once more at 15-15, prompting the Hawks to take five of the next six points to push ahead 20-16. Kills from Wijnbergen, Beretti, Pavan and Van Baars did the brunt of the damage for the Hawks during that period. 

The Dragons hung around until the end, drawing the deficit to one at 24-23 until a Wijnbergen kill off a feed from Brianna Merkel brought an end to a third set 25-23 winner for QU. 

Set Four: 

The fourth and final set saw Quincy jump out to yet another early advantage. Claiming seven of the first nine points on kills from Wijnbergen and Van Baars along with an ace from Merkel and errors from TU to make it 7-2. 

Shortly after up 8-5, QU took six of seven points on two kills from Merkel and Pavan along with one from Van Baars and an ace for Pavan to press the lead to eight at 14-6. 

Tiffin threatened as the end of the set loomed, but could never draw closer than two, which they did at 22-20, as the Hawks took care of business and closed out a 25-21 set win on kills from Pavan and Beretti along with an ace from Wijnbergen. With the victory, QU claimed a 3-1 match win to start the season off the right way. 

Match Two vs New Mexico Highlands

Set One: 

In the second contest of day one, the Hawks remained in fine form, taking five of the first seven points of the match to open a 5-2 advantage. Kills from Van Baars, Matzke and Wijnbergen helped propel the lead. 

Shortly after, a run of four straight followed by a run of six straight points put the Hawks up big and the set out of reach early at 15-5. Three kills from Pavan, three aces from Beretti and an ace for Wijnbergen supplied the power to build the lead. 

Quincy pushed the lead as high as 14 en route to a convincing 25-11 win in the first set. 

Set Two: 

QU didn't miss a beat to open the second set, taking four straight on kills from Matzke, Van Baars and Beretti along with an error from NMH to make it 4-0. 

The Hawks quickly added on to the advantage, putting five straight on the board later in the set to make it 11-3. A kill from Pavan on a feed from Merkel followed by back-to-back aces from Wijnbergen and two New Mexico Highlands errors supplied the driving force for the run. 

QU pressed further as the set wore on, putting the set out of reach at 21-8 after taking seven of the last nine points. Once again the Quincy advantage ballooned to 14 at it's highest in another big win, 25-11. 

Set Three: 

Looking to collect the first sweep of the young season, the Hawks had to wait a little longer in the third set to assert their dominance. 

Down 6-5, the Hawks went on a run and never looked back. Five straight QU points made it 10-6. Followed up by nine of the next 12 points going Quincy's way swiftly put that Hawks up 19-9 in blink and you'll miss it fashion. 

Three kills from the setter, Merkel, along with another from Beretti and Mattie Reynolds down the stretch paved the way to a 25-16 win in the set and a 3-0 sweep of the Cowgirls of New Mexico Highlands University. 

Match Three vs Colorado State Pueblo

Set One: 

QU didn't have the opportunity to create much space until a four point run at the 5-5 mark propelled them to a small lead. Kills from Pavan along with one from Merkel and an ace from Beretti made it 9-5. 

The Hawks hovered around a four point advantage until two CSU-P errors and a kill from Van Baars furthered the lead to seven at 19-12. 

Later, down 20-14, Pueblo came roaring back with six points in a row to erase the deficit and make it 20-20 heading to the later stage of the first set.

Kills from Pavan and Merkel put QU back on top 22-20. The ThunderWolves got two of their own to even the score once more. Now at 22-22, two kills from Wijnbergen matching points for Pueblo made it 24-24. Down to the crunch time, Beretti pinned down the final two kills of the frame to give Quincy a 26-24 win in the contests first set. 

Set Two: 

CSU-P took the initiative early on in the second set, opening a 5-1 lead. The Hawks pulled back within two at 6-4 and 7-5 but couldn't close the gap. Playing catch up for the first time since the Tiffin match, Quincy trailed by six at 13-7. 

QU came back in a hurry, capturing six of the next seven points on kills from Wijbergen, Matzke and a kill and ace for Van Baars pulled Quincy within one at 14-13. 

The ThunderWolves responded with three straight points of their own to replenish the lead to four at 17-13. 

The Hawks were equal to the task, locking down the court for a run of 10 straight points to flip the set around and completely take over at 23-17. Three kills from Wijnbergen along with two from Beretti, one from Pavan and an ace from Amber Glen along with some Pueblo errors shot Quincy past it's opponent. 

Pueblo answered with four straight points to pull back to within two, but it was too little too late as an error and a kill from Beretti put down the comeback attempt and gave QU a 15-21 victory in the set and a 2-0 advantage in the match. 

Set Three: 

In the hunt for back-to-back sweeps, the Hawks got back to their early successful ways, taking a 4-1 on an error and kills from Wijnbergen and Van Baars. 

CSU-P pulled back to even at 6-6 before QU busted out an eight point run to put a lot of distance between themselves and the ThunderWolves at 14-6. During the run, Beretti went on an absolute tear at the service line, serving up four aces during the stretch, three of them consecutively. 

Quincy continued to pile on as the set moved forward, pressing the advantage up to 12 at 20-8. Kills from Van Baars, Pavan and Matzke helped pad the lead, all on feeds from Merkel. 

Pueblo tried to make things interesting, putting together their own run of six to make it 20-14, but ultimately the Hawks just couldn't be contained as a kill from Beretti and three more from Wijnbergen spelled the end of the set and match. A 25-16 set victory for Quincy and a 3-0 match win for back-to-back sweeps. 

Match Four vs Texas A&M Kingsville

Set One: 

In the final match of the TAMKU tournament, the Hawks drew the host, Javelinas of Texas A&M University - Kingsville. Quincy jumped out to the early lead, taking advantage of three errors from A&M Kingsville along with an ace from Merkel to make it 4-0. 

The Hawks continued to keep the Javelinas at bay, but as the set drew on, the margin continued to thin. QU held on to the advantage until TAMUK finally broke through for it's first lead of the contest at 17-16. 

Quincy responded by retaking the lead at 18-17 just be be answered by the Javelinas reclaiming the lead once again 19-18. Shortly after at 20-20, the Hawks got a run of three one a triplet of kills from Beretti to lead 23-20. 

Another kill from Beretti at 23-21 brought QU within a point of seizing the win, but an answer of three straight from TAMUK knotted it at 24-24. A kill from Pavan and an error put the Hawks over the hump and gave them a hard fought 26-24 win in the first set. 

Set Two: 

Quincy didn't hit their stride in the second set until nine points in. Trailing 6-3, a run of eight straight made it 11-6 Hawks. Kills from Wijnbergen and Pavan along with some errors and an ace from Glen supplied the run. 

From there, the Hawks did well in keeping the Javelinas at a safe distance, never allowing them to draw any closer than four points as they did at 14-10. 

Later in the set at 18-12 Quincy, the Hawks got three more on kills from Wijnbergen and Beretti to further the advantage to 21-12. 

QU coasted to the finish line in the second set, coming away with a very convincing 25-16 victory in the set and a 2-0 advantage in the match. 

Set Three: 

Set three was all A&M Kingsville from the start. After surrendering the first point via error, TAMUK took the next seven to open a sizable lead in the early going. 

Quincy battled back to 9-5 on a kill from Beretti, but couldn't close the gap any further from there as the Javelinas had their way down the stretch, closing out the third frame with a 25-17 win and staving off the sweep. 

Set Four: 

In similar fashion to the prior set, A&M Kingsville took the initiative in the early stage of the match, pressing their advantage to 6-2. Quincy battled back to a 9-9 tie on the heels of kills from Wijnbergen, Beretti, Merkel and Van Baars along with an ace from Pavan. 

TAMUK responded with a three point run to make it 12-9 but gave a few back in errors to put QU down a point at 13-12. From there, the Javelinas seven of the next eight points to press the lead up to seven at 20-13. 

The Hawks got back into it, winning four straight on kills from Pavan and Merkel along with an error to pull within three at 20-17. Ultimately, A&M Kingsville were able to hold on down the stretch and complete the 25-20 set winner to force a fifth and decisive set. 

Set Five: 

Quincy got on the board first in the mad dash to 15, converting on a kill from Wijnbergen off a feed from Glen. Two more kills from Wijnbergen followed by kills and an ace from Pavan and a kill from Van Baars made it 7-6 QU. 

The Hawks found themselves knotted up at 8-8 after a kill from Merkel. The Javelinas took four of the next five to open a three point lead with just three left to get at 12-9. 

QU got a kill from Wijnbergen to make it 12-10, but two more points from TAMUK put the Hawks in dire straights down 14-10.

Kills from Pavan and Merkel pulled Quincy within two at 14-12, but A&M Kingsville was able to finish the job, collecting the 15th point and completing the 15-12 set win and reverse sweep of the Hawks for a 3-2 match victory. 

All-Tournament Selections: 

Three Hawks were chosen as All-Tournament selections for the four contests. Emma Wijnbergen, Brianna Merkel and Alice Pavan. 

Wijnbergen paced the offense, collecting 71 kills, good for 30 more than any of her teammates while hitting .294 with 12 blocks. With six assists and five service aces, Wijnbergen comes in at third and fourth on the team, respectively, for the tournament. 

Merkel captained the offense as the teams setter during the tournament. She collected 147 assists good for just under a 10 assist per set average. In addition, Merkel showed her prowess on both sides of the ball, collecting 17 kills along with 38 digs and three blocks. 

Pavan anchored the defense, manning the net to the tune of 13 blocks during the four matches. Aside from being a menacing presence defensively up in front, Pavan also proved a formidable offensive weapon, collecting 39 kills on a potent .465 hitting %.