QUINCY, Ill. – The Quincy University women's volleyball team snapped a three-match losing streak and picked up its first GLVC victory of the season Saturday afternoon, defeating McKendree University in four sets, 25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 25-20, inside Pepsi Arena. The Hawks improve to 10-6 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
Quincy grabbed control early in the opening set, turning a 4-3 advantage into an 8-3 lead behind kills from
Selin Turgut and
Aysem Kocaalp, along with a
Milica Stamenic service ace. The Hawks continued to create separation and stretched the margin to 15-10 before pushing ahead 21-15 behind another service ace from Monika Bíliková. McKendree made a late push to get within 23-19, but Quincy closed out the frame 25-20. The Hawks hit just .148 with 12 kills and eight errors in the opener, but made up for it at the service line with five aces. McKendree hit .207 with nine kills and three errors.
The Hawks appeared ready to run away with the second set after scoring the first five points and eventually building a commanding 15-7 advantage. Quincy continued to control the frame and led 22-13 before the Bearcats mounted a furious comeback. McKendree chipped away at the deficit with several short runs before scoring five straight to pull within 23-21. The Hawks reached set point at 24-21, but the Bearcats continued to battle, eventually tying the frame at 24. Quincy had another set-point opportunity at 25-24, but McKendree scored four of the final five points to steal the set 28-26 and even the match. Quincy hit .222 with 16 kills and six errors, while McKendree hit .231 with 13 kills and four errors.
Quincy responded with its best offensive set of the match in the third. After falling behind 3-1, the Hawks quickly flipped the momentum and moved ahead 6-4. The lead continued to grow as Kocaalp and
Olivia Curry powered the offense, helping Quincy build an 18-12 advantage. McKendree cut the deficit to three at 20-17, but the Hawks answered by scoring five of the final six points to take the set 25-18. Quincy was nearly flawless offensively, hitting .500 with 16 kills and only one error on 30 attempts. McKendree also swung efficiently at .393, but the Hawks' offense proved too much.
McKendree opened the fourth set with a 5-2 advantage, but Quincy quickly erased the deficit and tied the frame at 5-5. The teams continued trading points until a Bíliková-led service run sparked five straight Quincy points to turn a 9-9 tie into a 14-9 Hawks lead. The Bearcats worked their way back within one at 15-14, but Quincy refused to surrender the lead. Turgut took over late from the service line, recording back-to-back aces during a run that pushed the advantage to 22-17. Matzke and Bíliková added late kills before a McKendree service error ended the match at 25-20. Quincy hit .348 with 10 kills and just two errors in the final set while adding five service aces.
The Hawks finished with their second-best hitting percentage of the season at .296, totaling 54 kills and only 17 attack errors. Quincy also recorded 13 service aces, marking the fourth time this season the Hawks have reached double figures from the service line. QU held advantages in kills, 54-45, aces, 13-8, and digs, 51-34, while McKendree held a 9-4 advantage in total blocks.
Kocaalp led the Quincy offense with 15 kills on .370 hitting while adding 12 digs, four service aces and 19.5 points. The performance marked her sixth double-double of the season and fifth consecutive match with one. Turgut added 14 kills on .303 hitting and 12 digs for her fifth double-double of the season and second straight. She also set a career high with four service aces and surpassed 500 career digs.
Matzke was highly efficient in the middle, finishing with 13 kills and just one error on 24 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage.
Macey Rocco directed the attack with 42 assists and added seven digs, while
Amber Glen collected 12 digs and surpassed 600 career digs.
The Hawks return to the road next week as they travel to Liberty, Missouri, to take on William Jewell College on Friday, October 2nd. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM inside the Mabee Center.
