TOWN AND COUNTRY, Mo. – Fresh off their first conference victory of the season, a five-set thriller over Missouri S&T last night, the Hawks followed up with another winner, this time over the Saints of Maryville University. After dropping the first set, Quincy roared back to take the final three sets and the match (15-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-16).
 
Set One:
 
It was a hot start for the Saints, who jumped out to a five-point advantage in the early going 10-5. Following a kill from Alice Pavan, MU used a four-point run to press the lead further to 14-6.
 
The Hawks pulled within five on a three-point run, featuring two errors and a kill from Wijnbergen to make it 17-12. Quincy never drew closer as Maryville rounded out a convincing 25-15 win in the first set.
 
Set Two:
 
QU bounced back in a big way in the second set, taking a 7-3 advantage on a four-point run supplied by kills from Wijnbergen, Pavan and Luna Van Baars along with a block from Pavan and setter, Brianna Merkel.
 
The Saints worked their way back into the set at the midpoint, capitalizing on a Quincy error, a block and a kill to draw within one at 12-11. The Hawks flipped the switched, taking nine of the next 10 points to put the set out of reach in a hurry. QU rolled on to a comfortable 25-17 set victory to even the match at 1-1.
 
Set Three:
 
Quincy used a three-point run to lead by a couple at 4-2 on two MU errors and a kill from Wijnbergen, one of her team leading 18 for the match and 39 for opening weekend of conference play.
 
Both sides remained deadlocked in a back and forth affair, exchanging the lead frequently until Quincy made its move. Late in the set at 19-18 Maryville, kills from Van Baars, Merkel, Pavan and Beretti, supplemented with a block from Pavan, proved to be the difference maker making it 23-19. Four points later, it was a 25-21 win capped by back-to-back kills from Beretti.
 
Set Four:
 
Looking to stave off a four-set loss, the Saints started off hot with a 6-1 advantage. Down 8-2, QU took six-straight points to knot the score at 8-8. A block from Pavan and Van Baars along with two kills from Van Baars and an ace and a kill for Wijnbergen propelled the Quincy comeback.
 
Following a kill from Maryville, the Hawks strung together a run of six more points to bust open a 14-9 lead. MU took a point on a Quincy error before the Hawks got hot again, this time for four-straight to further the advantage to 18-10. The Saints never drew closer than six heading down the stretch as Van Baars knocked down the final kill on a 25-16 set and 3-1 match win.
 
The Hawks will continue conference play starting next Friday (Sep. 29) hosting Truman State University at Pepsi Arena for a 6:00 PM GLVC showdown.