PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne volleyball team gets the 2019 regular season underway this weekend, as the Dukes travel to the University of North Carolina Wilmington for the UNCW Hampton Inns Invitational.

The Dukes open the season on Friday with a matchup against Charleston Southern at 7:00 p.m. and then face North Florida on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Duquesne closes the tournament against invitational host UNC Wilmington on Saturday at 7:00 p.m at Trask Coliseum.

Live stats are available for all three matches, while Duquesne's match against UNCW on Saturday night will be live streamed.

Steve Opperman, who enters his 22nd season at the helm of the Dukes, likes what he has seen from his team in the preseason.

"The preseason has been good overall," said Opperman. "It's been competitive, but challenging. With our renovation, (Palumbo Center transition to the UMPC Cooper Field House) we only have one court to train, which is tough. But the kids have done a great job of sticking to what we needed to do. I think we have been very productive with what we needed to accomplish in the pre-season."

THE SERIES

• All three matchups this weekend mark the first time in program-history that the Dukes have played Charleston Southern, North Florida and UNCW.

SEASON PREVIEW

• Duquesne returns two all-conference players in senior Dani Suiter and sophomore Summer Slade.
• Suiter, a back-to-back A-10 second team selection, enters her senior season ranked fifth in program history in assists (3,020) She looks to become the fourth ever Duke to amass 4,000 assists in her career. She stands 1,491 assists away from Mary Henry's (2012-2015) school record of 4,511 assists.
  • "Dani is one of our captains this year," mentioned Opperman. "She is doing a nice job of challenging our players to get better."
• Slade led the Dukes with 237 kills a season ago, averaging 2.86 kills per set.
  • "Summer has grown a lot from the spring," said Opperman "From fall of her freshman year to the spring and it's really translating on the floor. She could be a really dominant player in the A-10 this year." 
• Senior middle hitter Liz Wayne is another player to look out for in 2020.  Wayne, a native of Colorado Springs, enters her final year as a Duke with 423 kills and 112 blocks.
  • "We're seeing some really nice things from our senior middle hitter Liz Wayne," continued Opperman. "She's really versatile and can do anything for us. Throughout her career she has played in many different spots. Liz is doing a tremendous job of making sure that the standard is set in a gym and that we are training hard."
• 2017 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team selection Maria Mosbacher returns for her junior season on the Bluff in 2019. Moshbacher has recorded 473 kills through her first 54 matches for the Dukes. She ranked second best on the team with 2.22 kills per set and recorded double-figure kills in six matches in 2018.
  • "Mosbacher is coming in on fire right now and has been doing really nice things from the left pin," noted Opperman of the North Allegheny High School product.
• While the team boasts several key returners, fans can expect a few newcomers to make an impact this season. Freshmen Morgan Kelly, Sydney Moran, Hailey Poling, Ashley Larson and Anita Parrott join the squad in 2019.
  • "We could very easily see two or three players from the incoming freshman class play immediately," said Opperman of the newest Dukes. "It's a good mix of the incoming group with our returners. We should have a pretty solid season."

UP NEXT

• After the UNCW Hampton Inns Invitational, the Dukes will host the first volleyball match ever at PPG Paints Arena at the ChampYinz Volleyball Invitational on Friday, September 6. Duquesne will play Green Bay at 5:30 p.m. with Pitt taking on Ohio State in the night cap at 8:00 p.m. The following day, Duquesne will battle Ohio State (11:00 a.m.) and Pitt (8:00 p.m.) at Fitzgerald Field House in the final day of the ChampYinz Volleyball Invitational.

For tickets for day one of the ChampYinz Volleyball Invitational (PPG Paints Arena) click here
For day two tickets of the ChampYinz Volleyball Invitational (Fitzgerald Field House) click here.