Aug. 28, 2010

Radford Box Score
Montana State Box Score

PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne volleyball team improved to 4-0 on the season after defeating Radford by a score of 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-11, 25-19) and shutting out Montana State 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) on the second day of the Courtyard by Marriott Invitational.

Junior Liz Homan took home the MVP award after recording 33 kills and hitting .439. Freshman Allison Foschia was named to the All-Tournament Team after a team best 38 kills while adding 31 digs.

The day started off at 11 a.m. with the Dukes hosting Radford. After the teams split the first two sets, the Dukes dominated the rest of the way, trailing only one time.

In the third set, DU jumped out to an early 9-0 advantage and built a 14-1 lead en route to a 25-11 set win. The Dukes fell behind 7-5 early in the fourth set before an 11-3 run put them up 16-10. Down 23-14, the Highlanders battled back with four straight points to narrow the gap to 23-18, but DU would score two of the next three points to take the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

Homan finished the match hitting .500 with nine kills while Foschia recorded a match-high 14 kills. Amy Palko had a match-best 16 digs and Sarah Svorinic had 40 of DU's 47 assists.

In the final match of the evening, the Dukes battled a tough Montana State team to a 3-0 win. The first set went back and forth with three ties and two lead changes. A Foschia kill broke a 19-19 tie and started a 6-2 run to give Duquesne a 25-19 set victory.

There were five ties in the first 20 points of the second set. A bad set by MSU's Chelsea Oemcke started a 6-0 run by the Dukes. The Bobcats once again battled back getting within one point at 24-23, an attack error by Oemcke put the Dukes 2-0 after taking the second set 25-23.

The third set played out like the first two, with early ties before Duquesne would pull and stay ahead. The Dukes finished the shutout with a 25-18 set victory.

Sara Scheirman finished with a team-best 14 kills, Palko had 23 digs and Svorinic recorded 35 assists.

Up next for the Dukes will is a trip to Madison, Wis. for the Inntowner Invitational on Sept. 3-4. DU opens with host Wisconsin on Friday, followed by Loyola, Ill and Chicago State on Saturday.