CLEVELAND, Tn. - The Hawks got the job done in their first match of the Lee University Tournament, taking down Embry-Riddle in four sets (29-27, 11-25, 25-22, 25-19) before facing off with a tough Nova Southeastern side that dealt QU its first loss of the season in four sets (25-16, 14-25, 17-25, 15-25) to drop the Hawks to 9-1 on the 2024 campaign. 

Match One vs Embry-Riddle 

Set One 

Quincy scored the first two points of the set on an Eagles error and a kill from Emma Wijnbergen, maintaining a small advantage until a three-point run at the 9-8 mark gave QU a little breathing room at 12-8. Later in the set, an ERU run of four-straight points propelled Embry-Riddle ahead 16-15. 

Neither side was able to build a lead larger than two down the stretch as an ERU forced of set-point at 24-22 before a Luna Van Baars kill and Wijnbergen ace knotted the score at 24-24. QU buckled down in the clutch, eventually using a Susanna Beretti kill to seal a 29-27 win in the first set. 

Set Two

Embry-Riddle took eight of the first nine points of the set and never looked back, pressing the lead to double-digits shortly after at 13-3 and using a run of five later in the set to open a 21-6 advantage before going on to claim the second set 25-11. 

Set Three

QU opened the third frame with a three-point advantage at 9-6 before a six-point Eagles run vaulted the opposition ahead 12-9. The Hawks took the next three points to even the score and used a four-point run shortly after to build an 18-15 edge. 

ERU hung around and was able to draw the set at 22-22 until a kill from Wijnbergen, an error and blocks from Samantha Hansen and Wijnbergen made up a three-point run to close out a 25-22 QU victory in the third set. 

Set Four 

The Hawks were cooking early in the fourth set, sandwiching an ERU point with three and four-point runs to build a 7-1 lead. Quincy maintained a healthy advantage until busting the set open with a five-point run to lead it 18-6. 

Embry-Riddle took nine of the next 10 points to narrow the margin to 19-15 before a four-point QU run replenished the advantage to 23-15. Shortly after, a Van Baars kill concluded a 25-19 set and 3-1 match win for the Hawks. 

Notable Performances
Susanna Beretti - 19 Kills, .245 Hitting %, 1 Ace, 22 Digs
Emma Wijnbergen - 13 Kills, 7 Blocks, 2 Aces, 9 Digs
Elena Kasavica - 38 Assists, 2 Kills, 4 Aces, 16 Digs

Match Two vs Nova Southeastern

Set One 

Elena Kasavica kicked off the match with a service ace before the Hawks took five of the next six points to lead 6-1. Quincy maintained a healthy lead until a four-point NSU run closed the game to two at 14-12.

QU never let the Sharks get any closer for the remainder of the set, taking five of the next six points to build a 19-13 advantage and went on to cruise to a 25-16 victory in the first set, capped off by one of Wijnbergens 23 kills in the match. 

Set Two 

After dropping three of the first four points, Quincy used a service error, Wijnbergen kill and back-to-back aces from Beretti to build a 5-3 edge. Later in the set, Nova Southeastern evened the tally at 10-10 before building a slight 14-12 lead. 

Following a Van Baars kill, seven-straight points pressed the NSU lead to 21-13 as the Sharks went on to take the set 25-14. 

Set Three

The first eight points of the set were split evenly between the side before a seven-point Nova run built an 11-4 lead early in the set. QU fought back to narrow the lead to four on two occasions at 12-8 and 20-16, but ultimately weren't able to overcome the early deficit in a 25-17 loss of the third set. 

Set Four 

NSU stepped on the gas from the start of the fourth, taking 10 of the first 12 points to lead it by eight in the early going. Quincy trimmed the advantage down to four at 12-8 on an error and Wijnbergen kill, but weren't able to whittle down the deficit any from there as the Sharks remained in the drivers seat for the remainder of the set en route to a 25-15 set and 3-1 match win to hand the Hawks their first loss of the season. 

Notable Performances
Emma Wijnbergen - 23 Kills, 4 Blocks, 9 Digs
Luna Van Baars - 10 Kills, 1 Block, 7 Digs

Next Up

The Hawks carry on with the Lee University Tournament on Saturday (Sep. 21), taking on North Greenville at 8:00 AM before closing out the tourney against the host Flames of Lee University at 3:30 PM.