DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Dukes (9-12, 4-6 A-10) were defeated in four sets by Davidson (10-9, 6-3 A-10) in an Atlantic 10 match at Belk Arena Friday night.
 
The Wildcats defeated Duquesne by set scores of 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 25-16.
 
Ashley Larson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian) showed off her versatility with a career-high 12 kills to go with 13 digs. Larson, who is traditionally a defensive specialist, had only one match with more than one kill in 56 career matches entering the night.
 
Summer Slade (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Mary's) matched Larson with 12 kills, while Anita Parrott (League City, Texas/Clear Falls) posted 10 kills on 19 attacks (two errors) for a team-high .421 hitting percentage.
 
The Dukes went with two setters and Riley Speelman (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) led the team with 22 assists, while Hailey Poling (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) dished out 21. Speelman added 10 digs.
 
Camille Spencer (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) paced the defensive efforts with 21 digs. Ego Onu (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) finished with a season-high six blocks (one solo).
 
Hattie Rodriguez led Davidson with 21 kills.

Morgan Kelly, who leads the Dukes and ranks fourth in the A-10 with 3.71 kills per set, did not play.
 
Duquesne will travel to Richmond, Virginia on Sunday, Oct. 24 to take on VCU (11-11, 6-3 A-10) in another A-10 match. The Rams are coming off of a heartbreaking five-set loss against Dayton
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Duquesne scored the first point of the night, but Davidson quickly put the Dukes in a 7-4 deficit. The Wildcats never trailed again in the opening set and led by as many as five, 12-7. The Dukes kept the set close, including a 24-23 hole late, but Davidson put away the set after a timeout at 25-23.
• The second set saw 12 tie scores, with neither team leading by more than two points when the set was tied at 20-20. The Dukes finished the second set strong, rolling off five-straight points, including two Shoemake kills, to even the match up with a 25-20 win.
• The third set was tied at 3-3, when Davidson posted eight-straight points to put the Dukes in ab 11-3 hole. The Wildcats were up 22-11 when Duquesne made a run. DU scored five of the next six points, including four-straight, to make the score 23-16. Despite the late push, Davidson secured the final two points to win the set at 25-18.
• The Dukes held an 8-7 lead after a Parrott kill, but Davidson recollected the lead at 11-9. The Wildcats put the set away with a five-point run that made the score 16-10 and closed out the match with a 25-16 win.