PHILADELPHIA – Trailing 2-0 after two sets, the Duquesne volleyball team (8-10, 2-3  A10) rallied to win three consecutive sets to defeat La Salle (7-9, 2-3 A10), 3-2, on Friday night at Tom Gola Arena.

La Salle took a 2-0 lead after taking the first set, 25-20, and the second set 25-21. The Dukes regrouped to win the third set, 25-19, and tied the match at 2-2 with a 25-18 fourth frame victory. Duquesne earned the pivotal fifth set by a score of 15-10 to complete the comeback for its second consecutive Atlantic 10 victory.   

The Dukes were led in kills, assists and digs by freshmen, as Morgan Kelly led a group of four Dukes with a season-best 19 kills. Summer Slade posted 13 kills, while Liz Wayne tallied 12 (.500 hitting percentage) and Maria Mosbacher supplied 10 kills.

Hailey Poling distributed a season-high 27 kills, while Dani Suiter dished 21.

Defensively, Ashley Larson led the way with a season-high 25 digs. Kelly (20 digs), Slade (20 digs) and Poling (19 digs) all recorded double-doubles. Ego Onu connected on seven kills and five blocks.

Duquesne is off until next weekend, when the Dukes head to George Mason on Friday and cap the weekend at George Washington on Sunday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

·       The first set saw both teams trade points, as La Salle took a slim 16-15 lead. The Explorers would build a 23-16 advantage following a 7-2 sprint. The Dukes responded with a 4-1 run, with kills from Mosbacher, Slade and Wayne, but La Salle would eventually earned a kill on set point to take the first frame, 25-20. The Dukes registered a .412 hitting percentage in the set.

·       The second frame was also a back-and-forth affair, as the teams would not be separated by more than two points for the first half of the set. With the score tied at 12-12, La Salle surged ahead on a 7-0 run to take a 19-12 advantage. The Dukes countered with a 7-3 run, slicing the Explorer lead 22-19. La Salle reached set point at 24-19, but Duquesne held on with kills from Mosbacher and Onu. La Salle tallied a kill on set-point to win the second frame, 25-21.

·        A similar format continued in the third set, but it was Duquesne that sprinted ahead on a 8-0 run with the score tied at 13-13, as the Dukes earned a 20-13 lead. La Salle countered with a 5-0 run to cut the Dukes' lead to 20-18. La Salle got within two points once more at 22-19, but the Dukes closed the third set strong with four consecutive points to earn a 25-19 third set to extend the match to a fourth set.

·       The Dukes kept momentum going, grabbing an early 10-3 advantage in the fourth set. La Salle would cut the Duquesne advantage to two after an 8-4 sprint at 13-11. With the match tied at 15-15, the Dukes took control with a 7-1 surge, which featured three Explorers' attack errors and an ace from Kelly. The Dukes would tie the match at 2-2 after finishing the set ahead at 4-3, earning the tying the match after winning the fourth frame, 25-18.

·       After La Salle led 2-0 in the final set, Duquesne jumped ahead with a 9-1 streak, taking a 9-3 advantage. The Explorer's countered with a 5-2 run to slice the lead to just two at 10-8. That's as close as La Salle would get, as the Dukes finished the set strong with a 5-2 gallop to complete the comeback.

·       Duquesne led 95-89 in digs and .261 to .182 on attack percentage.

·       The match featured 32 tie scores and nine lead changes.