QUINCY, Ill. – Looking to remain unbeaten in conference play after a perfect 2-0 start last weekend, the QU women's volleyball team hosted the Bulldogs of Truman State University to kick off homecoming weekend. The Hawks dispatched TSU in five sets (25-19, 21-25, 21-25, 27-25, 15-12) coming back from down a set to take the match in five.
 
Set One:
 
Quincy took an early advantage in the first set and never looked back. An early three-point run put the Hawks ahead 4-1, soon after at 5-4, another run of three, featuring kills from Luna Van Baars, Brianna Merkel and Alive Pavan replenished the lead to 8-4.
 
Later in the set with a 13-11 lead, a five-point run on kills from Pavan, Van Baars and an ace from Amber Glen made it 18-11. The Bulldogs never drew closer than six, as an Emma Wijnbergen kill closed out a 25-19 first set winner.
 
Set Two:
 
Truman State took the initiative in the second frame, following up a kill from QU with five points of its own to jump out in front 5-1. Following another kill for the Hawks, TSU used another run, this one for four straight points to build a commanding 9-2 advantage.
 
The Hawks answered, using a three-point run at 11-3, and five-point run at 13-6 to draw within two at 13-11. Two Truman State errors and a kill from Wijnbergen pulled Quincy within one at 16-15 before the Bulldogs took five of the next six points to open a five-point lead heading down the stretch. TSU went on to take the set, 25-21, to draw the match at 1-1.
 
Set Three:
 
Tied 3-3 in the early going, four straight Quincy points on two errors and back-to-back kills from Pavan, two of her 21 in the match, made it 7-3. The Hawks pressed the lead further to six at 13-7 on a kill from Erin Matzke and an ace and a kill for Pavan.
 
Truman State answered in a big way, taking the next seven points to erase the deficit and claim the lead at 14-13. QU retook the advantage, leading by three at 18-15, until TSU used two three-point runs, encompassing a Quincy point, to tip the scale in its favor 21-19. The Bulldogs finished off the set 25-21 to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
Set Four:
 
Looking to stave off their first conference and home loss of the season, the Hawks burst out the gates, taking eight of the first 11 making it 8-3. Truman State worked its way back into the set, pulling within one at 9-8. Shortly after, the Bulldogs evened the score at 11-11, prompting a kill from Susanna Beretti and back-to-back aces from Merkel replenish the lead to 14-11.
 
QU kept TSU at bay until two errors deadlocked the score at 23-23. The Hawks forced set-point the following two points, met with Bulldog points until Quincy found an opening at 25-25, using kills from Wijnbergen and Pavan to take the set 27-25.
 
Set Five:
 
Truman State jumped out to an early three-point lead in the race to 15 points. The Hawks tied it at 4-4 and once again at 7-7 before the Bulldogs utilized a challenge review to claim the 8-7 lead heading into exchanging of sides.
 
Quincy took advantage of an error and a block from Merkel and Matzke to make it 9-8, prompting a TSU answer of three points to take the lead right back 11-9. The Hawks buckled down in the clutch, using a kill from Matzke and back-to-back aces from Merkel to regain the lead 12-11.
 
A service error ended the hot run for Merkel making it 12-12 before Wijnbergen took over, slamming home the final three points of the match to give her a match-leading 22 kills, and the Hawks a 15-12 set and 3-2 match win.
 
With the victory, QU remains unbeaten in GLVC play and on the home hardwood.
 
Up next is a rematch with Upper Iowa University in the friendly confines of Pepsi Arena tomorrow afternoon (Sep. 30). The Hawks defeated the Peacocks in five sets in their previous meeting, Saturday (Sep. 9) to round out the Quincy Invitational Tournament. First serve for the GLVC showdown is slated for 3:00 PM.