MANKATO, Minn. — The Hawks responded in a big way on Saturday, September 13, bouncing back from a tough first day at the Maverick Invite with a pair of dominant sweeps to close out the weekend. Quincy opened the day with a thrilling 3–0 victory over Minnesota Crookston (28–26, 25–17, 25–13) before rolling past Lake Superior State in the afternoon by another sweep (25–13, 25–9, 25–21). With the two wins, Quincy improved to 5–2 on the season.

Game One vs. Minnesota Crookston

Quincy started slowly, trailing 5–1 in the opening set, but quickly rallied with a four-point burst that included two service aces from Susanna Beretti. The rest of the set was back and forth, with the Hawks staring down set point at 24–22. Three Crookston errors swung momentum Quincy's way, and after the Golden Eagles earned two more points to get to set point once again, but the Hawks sealed the deal with three straight kills, two from Janelle Pye-Blacknard and one from Alice Pavan, for a 28–26 win.

Quincy carried that energy the rest of the way, using a pair of five-point runs to separate in set two en route to a 25–17 win. In the third, the Hawks dominated from the start, taking six of the first seven points behind three Beretti kills. After a seven-point run made it 14–7, Quincy followed with another seven-point surge and cruised to a 25–13 victory to complete the sweep.

Pye-Blacknard led the way with 14 kills, while Beretti added 12 and Elena Kasavica handed out 35 assists. Pavan totaled four blocks, surpassing 250 career blocks in the process, and the Hawks had four players reach double-digit digs, led by Beretti and Selin Turgut with 16 each, and freshman Shelby Fabbri posting 12 in her first match as libero. As a team, Quincy controlled every category and held Crookston to just .068 hitting.

Game Two vs. Lake Superior State

Quincy dominated right out of the gate, opening with an 8–1 lead and never looking back in a 25–13 first set. The Hawks capitalized on eight Laker attack errors while committing just three of their own.

Set two was even more lopsided, as Quincy strung together five different runs of four or more points. The Hawks hit .323 with just two errors while forcing LSSU into a -.125 clip in a 25–9 win, highlighted by five kills from Pye-Blacknard.

The Lakers put up more resistance in set three, trading points throughout the frame. Neither side led by more than three until Quincy strung together five straight to set up match point at 24–20. After one final Laker point, Turgut ended it with a kill to finish the sweep 25–21.

Pye-Blacknard once again led the offense with 13 kills, while Pavan chipped in eight on .500 hitting. Kasavica dished out 30 assists and added a team-high 13 digs. The Hawks' serving made the biggest difference, racking up 11 aces without conceding one. Beretti tied her career high with five aces, while Pavan and Milica Stamenic each added two. Quincy also held LSSU to just .095 hitting on the day.

With two convincing wins, the Hawks leave Minnesota with momentum and confidence. Quincy will have the week off before heading south to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, for the Bettye Wallace Invitational on Thursday, September 19. The Hawks are set for two matches, opening against Pittsburg State at 11 AM before facing host Henderson State at 5:30 PM.