QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University women's volleyball team fell to Drury University in straight sets Saturday afternoon inside Pepsi Arena, dropping the GLVC matchup 25-15, 26-24, 25-14. The loss moves the Hawks to 12-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Drury took control immediately in the opening set, scoring the first four points before stretching its advantage to 10-4. Quincy briefly found some momentum with three straight points to cut the deficit to 10-7, highlighted by a Monika Bíliková service ace and an
Aysem Kocaalp kill, but the Panthers quickly regained control. Drury used another extended run to push its advantage to 18-9 and never allowed the Hawks back into the frame, taking the opener 25-15. Quincy hit .114 with 10 kills and six errors, while Drury was highly efficient at .360 with 10 kills and just one error.
The Hawks put together a much stronger second set. After falling behind 6-2, Quincy battled back with four straight points to tie the frame at six and eventually took its first lead at 10-9. The Hawks continued to build momentum behind kills from Kocaalp,
Erin Matzke and
Olivia Curry, eventually opening up a 20-16 advantage.
Drury refused to go away, scoring five of the next six points to tie the set at 21. Quincy responded and moved within one point of evening the match after back-to-back Kocaalp kills gave the Hawks a 24-22 lead, but the Panthers answered with four consecutive points. A kill, a Quincy attack error and another late finish completed the comeback as Drury stole the set 26-24. The teams were nearly even offensively, with Quincy hitting .205 behind 15 kills and six errors while Drury hit .216 with 13 kills and five errors.
The third set remained tight through the early going, with the teams trading points before Quincy tied the score at 10-10 on a Kocaalp kill. From there, the set completely swung in Drury's favor. The Panthers rattled off nine consecutive points, aided by strong serving, Quincy attack errors and a red-card point, to build a 19-10 advantage. The Hawks were unable to recover from the run as Drury closed out the sweep with a 25-14 victory. Quincy hit just .069 with nine kills and seven errors in the final frame, while Drury hit .308 with 11 kills and three errors.
Both teams finished the match with 34 kills, but Drury committed just nine attack errors compared to 19 for Quincy and finished with a .284 hitting percentage to the Hawks' .139. The Panthers also held advantages in service aces, 8-3, and total blocks, 9-5, while both teams collected 41 digs. Quincy's three service aces tied its season low, while the Hawks also committed 12 service errors.
Kocaalp led Quincy offensively with 12 kills and seven digs, while Matzke turned in the Hawks' most efficient performance with six kills and no errors on 13 attempts for a .462 hitting percentage. Matzke also added three total blocks. Curry and freshman
Izzy Steiner each chipped in six kills, while Bíliková finished with three kills and a service ace.
Macey Rocco directed the offense with 24 assists and six digs, surpassing 700 career assists in the process.
Amber Glen led the back row with 16 digs, while
Milica Stamenic added four.
The Hawks will step away from GLVC play next weekend when they travel to Hammond, Indiana, for the Midwest Region Crossover on Friday and Saturday, October 16th and 17th. Opponents and match times are still to be determined.
