MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Duquesne volleyball team (4-7) fell to West Virginia, 3-0, (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) in its first match at the Mountaineer Invitational on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum.

Summer Slade, Liz Wayne and Maria Mosbacher all recorded eight kills in the match, as Wayne posted a .357 hitting percentage.

Dani Suiter (19 assists) and Hailey Poling (11 assists) combined for 30 of Duquesne's 33 assists on the night.

On the defensive end, Claire Boe earned 19 digs for the Dukes.         

The Dukes will take on Navy (noon) and Eastern Kentucky (5:00 p.m.) tomorrow to wrap up the Mountaineer Invitational and close out non-conference play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the opening set, the Dukes and Mountaineers could not gain a significant separation on the scoreboard until WVU took a six-point lead at 17-13. Duquesne would fire off a 5-2 run to get within a point at 20-19. The Dukes could not tie the match, getting as close as 23-22 and 24-23, as the Mountaineers earned the first set by a score of 25-23.
• Duquesne started the second frame strong, taking an early 10-6 advantage. With Duquesne holding a 14-8 lead, the Mountaineers responded with a 6-0 sprint to knot the score at 14-14. The Dukes would earn the next two points on kills from Wayne and Ego Onu, but WVU would take control with 7-0 surge to take a 21-16 lead. The Dukes fought back with three consecutive points on a pair of WVU attack errors and another Onu kill, but the Mountaineers would hold on to win the set, 25-22.  
• With the third set tied at 5-5, WVU strung together a 10-6 run to take a 14-11 lead. The Mountaineers earned 10 of the final 13 points in the match, earning a 25-15 set three victory.
• The Dukes led on digs, 45-44.
• Duquesne had won five of the previous meetings in the series,. WVU now leads the all-time series by a 16-15 mark.