CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Newberry Wolves volleyball team suffered a conference loss on the road Friday night as they were defeated by the Queens Royals 3-0. With the loss, the Wolves fall to 4-10 (2-8 SAC) on the season.

The pivotal second set was the turning point in the match as Newberry was down 1-0. Queens won the first five points and seemed like they might run away with the set, but the Wolves battled back, winning five of the next six points to close within one at 6-5. From there on, neither team was ahead by more than four points. With the Royals leading 14-10, Newberry won ten of the next 16 points to tie the match at 20. Queens would pull away again, however, winning four straight points to put Newberry on the brink. After Newberry cut the lead to 24-21, the Royals recorded a kill to win the second set and take a 2-0 lead.

The first set was close early on as Newberry was down 5-3 in the first set. From that point on, the Royals won four straight points to take a 9-3 lead, forcing the Wolves to call their first timeout of the match. After the timeout, Queens continued to dominate the set and won five consecutive points to take a 14-3 lead, putting the set out of reach. Although Newberry would battle hard from that point on, the Royals cruised to the finish line, winning the set 25-10 and taking the early 1-0 lead.

In the third set, the Wolves and Royals battled hard once again and Newberry trailed 5-3 early on. Queens pulled away quickly and took a commanding lead at 14-5. The Wolves would battle back later in the set and cut the lead to five points at 22-17. However, the Royals won three of the next five points to take the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.

Match standouts included Toni-Anne Whitlow, who led the team with ten kills and two blocks. Angela Gore and Zoe Dinkins also recorded two blocks each. Katie Ullsperger also had an excellent all-around match with seven digs, five kills, and a service ace. Avery Webb also recorded a service ace and led the team with 13 assists, while Sydney Diaz led the team with 20 digs.

The Wolves will be in action again tomorrow afternoon on the road as they take on Catawba at 4 p.m.