QUINCY, Ill. - The Hawks kicked off their conference schedule on a high note on Friday evening (Sep. 27) sweeping the Saints of Maryville University (25-12, 26-24, 25-23) to open Homecoming weekend with a win and move to 12-1 on the season and 1-0 in GLVC play. 

Set One

Quincy took the early advantage to begin the match, claiming four of the first five points on kills from Emma Wijnbergen and Susanna Beretti along with an Erin Matzke block and an ace from Beretti. Maryville responded with a run of four points to regain the advantage 5-4 until a big Hawk run shortly after put QU in prime position. 

Knotted up at 7-7, an eight-point Quincy run put the Hawks ahead in a hurry. Shortly after, runs of three and four from the home team effectively ended the set, lifting QU ahead 23-10. The Hawks went on to take the first set by a convincing 25-12 score. 

Set Two 

The second set was far more contested than the first as the largest lead of the set for either side stretched to only three points. MU clung to a narrow lead for the majority of the early stages of the frame before a four-point run at the 12-10 mark propelled Quincy to a 14-12 advantage. 

Moments later, QU opened the largest leads of the set at 16-13 and 17-14 until a four-point Saints run shortly after put Maryville back on top 20-18 heading down the stretch. 

Quincy got right back into it, evening the tally at 21-21 before forcing set-point shortly after at 24-23. MU snagged the next point to draw the score before kills from Luna Van Baars and Wijnbergen sealed a hard-fought 26-24 winner in the second set. 

Set Three

The Saints took the initiative early in the third set, claiming seven of the first 10 points. MU remained in the drivers seat until a six-point Hawks run at the 11-5 mark evened the score at 11-11. 

Quincy took its first lead of the set since 2-1 on a kill from Beretti and an error to press ahead 13-12 before firing off another big run a point later. Tied at 13-13, an eight-point QU run looked to do everything but close the book on the match as the Hawks led it 21-13, but the Saints were far from finished. 

Maryville took 10 of the next 12 that included runs of six and three points to roar its way back into the set and draw things at 23-23. Just as MU worked its way back into the mix, kills from Van Baars and Beretti turned out the lights on a 25-23 set and 3-0 match victory for QU. 

Notable Performances
Susanna Beretti - 16 Kills, .400 Hitting %, 4 Aces, 1 Block, 1 Assists, 24 Digs
Emma Wijnbergen - 17 Kills, 1 Block, 8 Digs
Elena Kasavica - 37 Assists, 1 Ace, 1 Block, 12 Digs

Next Up 

The Hawks are back in action tomorrow (Sep. 28) hosting the Miners of Missouri S&T to conclude opening weekend of GLVC play. First serve is slated for 3:00 PM from Pepsi Arena.