PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne volleyball team (9-13, 3-6 A10) fell to Davidson (9-12, 4-4 A10) in straight sets (25-14, 25-23, 25-18) to close out the weekend on Sunday afternoon at Mt. Lebanon High School.

The Dukes were led in most categories by freshman, as Morgan Kelly posted a team-high 10 kills in the match. Summer Slade and Ego Onu each supplied eight kills against the Wildcats, Hailey Poling distributed 26 assists.

Defensively, Ashley Larson led the squad with 14 digs, while Hailey Poling added 13 for a double-double performance. Slade and Liz Wayne earned two blocks each.

The Dukes are back on the road next weekend, when Duquesne travels to Fordham on Friday, Nov. 1 and Rhode Island the following day.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The match began even, with neither team gaining a gaining significant separation on the scoreboard until the Wildcats surged ahead with a 13-2 run to take the first set, 25-14.
• Davidson jumped to a 4-0 lead to begin the second set, but the Dukes would cut the deficit in half at 5-3, 6-4, 7-5, 9-7 and 11-8. The Wildcats increased their lead to 18-13 after a 7-5 run. Duquesne clawed back to cut the lead to two at 18-16 after kills from Wayne and an ace from Slade. The two foes would trade points the remainder of the set, as Davidson picked up two consecutive points with the score tied at 23-23 to grab a 2-0 lead.
• Davidson gained separation in the third set with a 9-2 run to take an 18-10 lead. The Dukes made things interesting with a 5-0 sprint to cut the deficit to 20-15. The Wildcats completed the sweep by taking the third set, 25-18.