ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Facing George Mason for the second time in less than two weeks, the Duquesne volleyball team (9-10, 3-3 A10) earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Patriots (4-14, 2-4 A10) on Friday night at the Recreation Athletic Complex.  

Three Dukes registered double-figures in kills, with Liz Wayne leading the way with 17. On her birthday, Summer Slade connected on 12 kills, while Morgan Kelly added 11. The duo of Dani Suiter (23) and Hailey Poling (21) accounted for 44 of Duquesne's 46 assists on the night.

Defensively, freshmen Poling and Ashley Larson each posted 21 digs, while Claire Boe contributed 19 and Slade recorded 15. Poling and Slade each earned double-doubles.

Ego Onu totaled a match-high six blocks, while Suiter supplied five and Wayne blocked four Patriot attempts.

The Dukes will make the short trek to George Washington tomorrow night to face the Colonials. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Wayne earned a kill on the first point of the match, the Patriots rallied for the next six points. Duquesne would tie the match at 7-7 after a 6-1 sprint. The teams would trade points until the Dukes gained an edge with four-consecutive points on four Patriots attack errors to grab a 17-13 advantage. Mason responded with 6-0 run to retake the lead at 19-17.  The two teams changed leads briefly, before the Patriots built a 23-20 lead. The Dukes would rally with five-consecutive points to steal the frame at 25-23. Maria Mosbacher would tally two kills in the run, while Onu and Slade each added a kill.
• It was Duquesne that began the second set strong, beginning the frame with a 7-1 surge. Mason sliced the deficit to two at 7-5. After the foes traded points, GMU would come within one point at 13-12, after 3-0 stretch. Duquesne grabbed a 17-13 lead, but Mason clawed back with three-straight points to make it a 17-16 game. The Dukes took advantage of three attack errors from GMU and an Onu kill to earn a 22-16 advantage. Mason fought back once again coming within two points at 22-20 and 24-22. A Patriot kill would get Mason within one at 24-23, but Slade hammered a kill on set-point to give the Dukes a 2-0 lead.
• Mason took the first significant lead of the third frame at 18-14. Duquesne sliced the deficit in half at 22-20, but a service error gave the Patriots a 3-point lead at 23-20. The Dukes tied the set with kills from Wayne, Slade and an attack error, but Mason earned back-to-back kills to earn its lone set of the match, 25-23.
• Duquesne would earn points on nine of the first 12 points in the fourth set, taking a 9-3 lead early on. The Patriots would get within four points of the Dukes at 13-9. With the score at 15-10 in favor of the Dukes, Duquesne would grab 10 of the final 17 points to win the match with a 25-16 set victory.  
• Duquesne led 52-46 on kills, 46-43 on assists and 96-84 on digs.