PITTSBURGH – After earning a pair of wins at the Valley Forge Sports Invitational last week, the Duquesne volleyball team (4-6) looks to keep momentum going this weekend, facing West Virginia (5-4), Navy (4-4) and Eastern Kentucky (5-6) at the Mountaineer Invitational. The Dukes face the host Mountaineers on Friday at 7:00 p.m. before taking on Navy on Saturday at noon and EKU later that night at 5:00 p.m. All matches will be broadcasted and live stats are available on WVUSports.com.

THE SERIES

• The Dukes and Mountaineers are dead-locked at 15-15 in the all-time series. The teams are meeting for the first time since 2013, as Duquesne has won the last five matches in the series. Head coach Steve Opperman holds an 8-6 record against WVU.
• Duquesne has swept Navy in both meetings at neutral sites against the Midshipmen, taking down Navy at the Palestra in 1994 and at Northern Arizona in 2008.
• EKU owns a 3-1 lead in the series against the Dukes, but Duquesne earned a sweep in the last match against the Colonels in 2011 at the Palumbo Center.

QUICK HITS

• The Dukes went 2-1 last weekend, opening the Valley Forge Sports Invitational with a victory against Chicago State (3-1). The Dukes fell to host Penn (3-0) on Friday night, before closing out the invitational strong with a 3-1 triumph over St. Francis Brooklyn on Saturday.
• In the victory over SFBK, the Dukes recorded a hitting percentage of .341, its highest clip since posting a .375 mark against George Mason on Oct. 28, 2017.
• The Dukes also registered season-highs in kills (60), assists (67) and digs (56) against the Terriers.
• Summer Slade and Liz Wayne both landed on the all-tournament team after an impressive performances on the weekend. Slade led the Dukes with 40 kills (3.64 k/s), and ranked second on the squad with 36 digs (3.27 d/s), posting two double-doubles. Wayne posted a .415 hitting percentage, connecting on 29 kills and a team-high eight blocks.
• Over the past five matches, Slade lead the team with 3.47 kills per set. Dani Suiter is first on the Dukes with 6.41 assists per set, while Claire Boe leads the squad in digs with 3.82 digs per set.
• WVU will play its home opener against the Dukes Friday night. The Mountaineers having fallen four of its last six matches, but swept Utah Valley in its most recent matchup last Saturday. Kristina Jordan leads the squad with 3.72 kills per set, while Lacey Zerwas has posted 9.81 assists per set. Alexa Hastings earned 5.26 digs per set so far this season, while Audrey Adams averages 1.03 blocks per set.  
• For the Midshipmen, Maddi Sgaltoni (3.45 k/s) and Amanda Montag (3.31 k/s) both average three-plus kills per set. Paige Miles averages 8.83 assists per set, while Emily Solis has posted 3.79 digs per set.
• The Colonels have three players averaging two-plus kills per set, with Abby Noll leading the squad with 3.67 kills per set. The primary setter is Rachel Woody, who averages 8.77 assists per set. Dena Tekavec (3.77 d/s) and Noll (3.52 d/s) lead EKU on the defensive end.