QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University women's volleyball team battled hard in front of a strong Pepsi Arena crowd but ultimately fell to Rockhurst in four sets (17–25, 14–25, 28–26, 23–25) on Friday night. The setback marked Quincy's second consecutive GLVC loss and its first home defeat since November 11, 2023. Despite the loss, the night was highlighted by a career milestone, as junior standout
Susanna Beretti surpassed 1,000 career kills, cementing her place among Quincy's all-time greats.
Rockhurst opened Set 1 with a quick run, forcing Quincy to play from behind right out of the gate. The Hawks found some rhythm midway through the frame with kills from
Selin Turgut and
Erin Matzke, closing the gap to three points. However, Rockhurst's serve-and-block game proved too strong as the visitors strung together another late burst to claim the opener 25–17. Quincy was unable to find consistency offensively, finishing the set hitting at a .041 clip.
The second set was all Rockhurst, as the visitors seized momentum from the very first serve and never looked back. Their dominance at the net and pressure from the service line limited the Hawks to only seven kills in the frame, while Quincy hit just .028 as a team with only seven kills in the set. The visitors dictated the pace from start to finish, rolling to a 25–14 win to extend their lead to 2–0.
Quincy responded with grit in Set 3, showing the fight that has fueled their hot start to the season. After trailing 14–8, the Hawks chipped away behind Kasavica's distribution and steady back-row defense from libero
Lilly Marth. Beretti and Turgut swung momentum with back-to-back kills to even the score, and the Hawks carried the energy into extra points. With the set tied at 26, Kasavica delivered a clutch kill before sealing the frame with a service ace, completing a 28–26 win that brought the crowd to its feet.
Set 4 was the most tightly contested of the night. Neither side led by more than three points, as Quincy leaned on Matzke in the middle and Turgut at the service line to stay even. A Turgut ace tied the score at 14–14, and the two teams traded blows down the stretch. Quincy had late chances to extend the match to a fifth set, but Rockhurst capitalized on a pair of timely side-outs to edge the frame 25–23 and close out the match.
Statistically, Rockhurst hit .247 with 52 kills, while Quincy managed 53 kills on .151 efficiency. The visitors' blocking presence loomed large with 12 team blocks compared to Quincy's four, while digs were nearly even with Rockhurst posting 81 to Quincy's 79.
Individually, Turgut led Quincy with 12 kills on .333 hitting while adding three aces, 13 digs, and three total blocks for a team-high 17.0 points. Matzke contributed 11 kills, while Beretti tallied 10 kills to surpass the 1,000 career kill milestone. Pye-Blacknard added nine kills and 19 digs, and Kasavica orchestrated the offense with 40 assists, 10 digs, and a key ace.
The Hawks will look to bounce back quickly as they return to Pepsi Arena tomorrow at 3:00 PM to host William Jewell in another GLVC matchup.
