CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Citadel volleyball team dropped both its matches against Queens (18-25, 14-25, 16-25) and UNC Asheville (23-25, 16-25, 12-25) on Friday inside Curry Arena.
 
Match vs. Queens
 
The Citadel (0-5) had 27 kills, while Queens (6-2) recorded 43 kills. The Royals hit .402 compared to The Citadel's .136. 
 
Savannah Freeman led the Bulldogs with six kills, while Rachel Reininger and Luci Lippelgoos each had five. Greta Pleuss posted a team-high 15 assists, and Lippelgoos recorded 3.0 total blocks.
 
Alexa Psotka recorded a team-high .571 hitting percentage, followed by Lippelgoos at .500. Reininger contributed two services.
 
Callie DeSchryver led the Royals with 11 kills.
 
Set 1: The Bulldogs and the Royals were tied at 4-4 after a kill from Freeman, but Queens took the lead after scoring two consecutive points. Queens' lead increased to six at 18-12 following a 3-0 run. The Bulldogs cut the gap to four points after an attack error by the Royals and another kill from Freeman to make it 21-17. A 4-1 run by the Royals ended the Bulldogs' chances of a comeback, giving them the set at 25-18. 
 
Set 2: Set two was not in favor of The Citadel, as Queens had a 14-point lead at 20-6. The Citadel managed to cut the lead to nine at 23-14, but the Royals won set two 25-14.
 
Set 3: Queens jumped to an early 9-3 lead in the third set, but the Bulldogs cut it down to three points after a kill from Freeman, a kill from Reininger, and a service ace from Reininger to make it 9-6. Queens followed with a 4-0 run to increase their lead to 13-6. The Citadel had a tough time gaining the lead from the Royals as they would take the set and the match at 25-16.
 
Match vs. UNC Asheville
 
The Citadel (0-7) lost in straight sets to UNC Asheville (2-7), with UNC Asheville hitting .371 compared to The Citadel's .170.
 
Rachel Reininger led the Bulldogs with a season-high 10 kills, followed by Luci Lippelgoos with five and Savannah Freeman and Gwen Berry with four kills each. Greta Pleuss posted a double-double with 24 assists and tied her career high with 14 digs.
 
Kylie Cackovic led UNC Asheville with 16 kills.
 
Set 1: Both teams were tied at 5-5 after a kill from Freeman early in set one. A 3-0 scoring run on three straight kills from UNC Asheville gave them the lead at 15-11. The Citadel narrowed the gap to just one point with Reininger's kill to make it 17-16. A solo block and a kill from Lippelgoos tied the set for the Bulldogs at 21-21. Lippelgoos' fourth kill of the set tied the match at 23-23, but UNC Asheville managed to pull ahead with a kill and a service ace to win the set 25-23.
 
Set 2: After The Citadel scored the first point of set one, UNC Asheville went on a 6-0 scoring run to make it 6-1. The Bulldogs responded with a 3-0 run featuring kills from Alexa Psotka and Reininger, cutting the gap to 6-4. A late 5-0 run by UNC Asheville expanded their lead to 20-11, which was enough to pull away from The Citadel as they secured the set at 25-16.
 
Set 3: Berry tied the set early at 4-4 with a kill for The Citadel, but UNC Asheville responded by taking the lead with a 5-0 run to make it 9-4. UNC Asheville's lead increased to 22-11, which was enough to close out the set and the match at 25-12.
 
Up Next
The Citadel ends the Queens Fall Classic against Campbell on Sept 13 at 11 am.