NEW YORK – Freshman
Ashley Larson came within one dig of matching a school record, but the Duquesne Dukes could not fend off Fordham, falling to the Rams, 3-1, on Friday night at Rose Hill Gym.
Larson continued her impressive freshman campaign with 30 (7.5 digs/set) digs against Fordham. The mark was just a single dig away from tying the school record for digs in a four-set match. Stacey Gilligan and Julie Fernacz both has 31 digs against Gannon in 1992. Gilligan established the 31-dig record against Buckell on Oct. 8, 1991.
Fellow freshman,
Hailey Poling, distributed a season-high 46 assists against the Rams. Three Dukes connected on 10-plus kills, as
Maria Mosbacher led the way with 16 kills.
Morgan Kelly added 12, while
Ego Onu tallied 10 kills while hitting .471.
Along with Larson's impressive 30 digs,
Summer Slade posted 21 digs, while Poling added 17 and Kelly tallied 14.
The Dukes will have a quick turnaround, as the Dukes will take on Rhode Island tomorrow night. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at Keaney Gymnasium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set was very competitive, with eight tie scores. Fordham grabbed an 11-6 lead after a 5-0 sprint. The Dukes countered with five-consecutive points to tie the match at 11-11. The teams traded points until the Rams earned a 22-17 lead. The Dukes sliced the deficit to 22-20, but Fordham would take the first set, 25-21.
- Fordham picked up where they it off in the second set, with a 5-0 surge to start the frame. Duquesne countered with a 4-0 run to cut the Rams' lead to a single point. The Dukes would build a 12-7 lead and increased its lead to as high as six at 19-13. The Dukes would handle business the rest of the way, earning the second set by a score of 25-18.
- With the third set tied at 5-5, the Rams would take control with a 16-0 run. With the score 19-9 in favor of Fordham the Dukes fired off a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to just four at 19-15. The Rams finished the frame on a 6-2 run by winning the second set, 25-17.
- No team would gain a significant lead until Fordham put together a 5-0 run to take a 14-7 lead. The Rams increased its lead to 10 at 20-10, but the Dukes rallied with four straight points to slice the deficit to six at 20-14. The two teams traded points the rest of the set, as Fordham earned the fourth frame by a score of 25-18.
