Firebirds Volleyball Suffers 3-0 Sweep Versus Queens

WASHINGTON, DC  –  The University of the District of Columbia volleyball team was defeated, 3-0 by Queens College on Tuesday night in East Coast Conference play in the nation's capital. Queens won three very competitive sets by scores of 25-19, 31-29 and 28-26.

The Firebirds fell to 5-7 overall and 1-2 in ECC play while Queens earned its first triumph of the season to improve to 1-12 overall and 1-1 in league play.

Junior Julia Lynch (Art – Spring Creek, NV/Spring Creek HS) and senior Vanessa Garley (Business Management – Rio Rancho, NM/Rio Rancho HS) led the Firebirds with 10 kills apiece. Lynch also added a match-high 13 digs for her second double-double of the season. Junior Tara Usko (History – Spring Creek, NV/Spring Creek HS) also added nine kills and hit a team-best .389. Sophomore Kamene Rose (Psychology – Chula Vista, CA/Hilltop HS) directed the offense with 35 assists from her setter position while also adding nine digs, defensively.

Queens was led by Arielle Dicoco, who had a match-high 12 kills. Setter Ceren Kilic finished with 30 assists and Xhesi Domi led the Knights defensively with 10 digs.

The first set was very contested early on, but Queens pulled away from a 12-12 deadlock with a 6-0 surge helped by two service aces by Suzanne Byrne. Dicoco finished off the set with a kill to give the Knights a 25-19 win and a 1-0 match lead.

Two early kills by Lynch in set two helped the Firebirds grab a 14-11 advantage, but the Knights charged ahead, 20-17 by scoring nine of the next 12 points, led by the service of Dicoco. Trailing 24-19, the Firebirds mounted a dramatic comeback to  tie the match at 24 and then again at 25. Three times they faced set point (26-25, 27-26, 29-28), but a 3-0 run by Queens that included two Firebirds ball-handling errors and then an out-of-rotation call on the final point, gifted the Knights a 31-29 set victory and a 2-0 match lead.

Still, the Firebirds showed no quit in the third set. They fought back from a 14-7 deficit to go on a 13-2 run and pull in front, 20-16. Usko contributed two kills while Garley and sophomore Amber Walls (Biology – Temple Hills, MD/Surrattsville HS) each added one apiece as well during the run. But after a Lynch kill made it 22-18 Firebirds, three District of Columbia attack errors helped Queens to a 6-0 run to go up 24-18. The Firebirds scored the next two points to even the match at 24, and forced two more ties at 25 and 26, but a Biance Steele kill and a Else Buchmiller service ace gave Queens a 28-26 set three win and completed the 3-0 sweep.

The Firebirds will look to bounce back as they host ECC foe Dowling on Thursday, September 27^th at 7 p.m.