Oct. 9, 2009

Box Score

PITTSBURGH - Charlotte came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Duquesne volleyball team 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 29-27, 25-20, 15-5) on Friday night. The Dukes fall to 12-7, 2-2 while Charlotte improves to 13-7, 3-1.

Jessica Artman led the Dukes with a career-high 23 kills. She started off the match with 10 kills on her first 11 attempts. Chelsea Tillotson had a team-high 42 assists and Amy Palko recorded a team-high 19 digs.

Sheri Davis recorded a match-high 52 assists for the 49ers who improve to 4-1 all-time against DU.

Duquesne played a near perfect first set, only committing one error while hitting .560 and recording 15 kills. The teams split the first 12 points before a Kathleen Hicks attack error put the Dukes ahead 7-6.

The teams went back and forth, but DU would hold onto the lead the rest of the way. With the Dukes up 21-20, a pair of kills by Liz Homan along with a Sara Scheirman ace and a 49ers hitting error gave Duquesne a 25-20 win in the first set.

The second set was also played close, with eight ties and neither team having a lead of more than four points. DU fell behind 10-6 early on, but chipped away at the Charlotte lead. Duquesne would take the first lead of the set at 15-14 after a 49ers service error. The lead would change hands two more times before the Dukes closed out the set on a 5-2 run to win 25-21 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

Similar to previous two sets, the third set was played tight. Charlotte controlled the tempo early on, then Duquesne would hold the lead towards the middle. With the score tied at 19-19, the Dukes would go on a 4-1 run to take a 23-20 lead. Needing only two more points to win the match, Charlotte did not back down and rattled off four consecutive points to take a 24-23 lead. Although DU fought off four set points, back-to-back kills by Kathleen Hicks and Jenna Litoborski gave UNCC a 29-27 win to stay alive in the match.

Duquesne jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fourth set, but Charlotte answered with an 10-3 run to take a 11-7 advantage. Their lead would get as high as eight points after back-to-back-to-back errors by Homan and two by Nicole Wright making the score 22-14. The Dukes would only get within five points the rest of the way, as a Wright service error forced a fifth and decisive set after Charlotte's 20-25 win.

With the exception of a 1-1 tie, the 49ers led from wire-to-wire in the fifth set, taking it 15-5 and the match 3-2.

Next up for the Dukes is George Washington (13-6, 2-1) on Sunday. The match begins at 1:00 p.m.

Duquesne vs. Charlotte