PITTSBURGH –Behind a season-best hitting percentage, the Duquesne volleyball team cruised to a three-set sweep over George Washington Friday evening in an Atlantic 10 match at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
The Dukes (11-14, 6-8 A-10) defeated the Colonials (2-22, 2-11 A-10) by set scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-19.
 
The Dukes matched their season-high with a .330 hitting percentage, which included 50 kills on 103 attacks (16 errors). Hailey Poling (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) guided the offense with 46 assists – a career-high in a three-set match.

A trio of players notched double-digit kills, led by a match-high 15 from Morgan Kelly (Florence, Ky./Cooper). Anita Parrott (League City, Texas/Clear Falls) put down 14 kills on just 19 attacks (.526), while Summer Slade (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Mary's) turned in a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 14 digs.

The Colonials, who entered the match fifth in the A-10 with 1.35 aces per set, were limited to just three all night. Liv Womble led GW with seven kills on the evening.

The Dukes also hit .330 in a three-set sweep over Idaho in September.
 
The Dukes will honor and recognize their five senior student athletes on Senior Day this Sunday, Nov. 7 prior to taking on George Mason. The match is set for 1 p.m. and will broadcast on ESPN+.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Dukes took a 6-3 lead, but all three of GW's points came on service errors. The Colonials managed to tie the set at 10 and 12, but DU did not allow GW to take the lead. A service error made the score 14-13, before a run of six-straight points opened up a 20-13 advantage for the Dukes. The Colonials managed to stop the run, but consecutive kills by Kelly closed out the set at 25-16.
• The Dukes clung to an 8-7 lead in the second set when it went on another big run to pull away. Duquesne notched seven-straight points, capped off by a Ego Onu (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) service ace, that made the score 15-7. The Dukes did not allow GW to get any closer than five points and eased into a 25-18 win in the set.
• Duquesne led wire-to-wire in the third set to close out the match. GW notched consecutive points to close the DU lead to one, 9-8, but four-straight points rebuilt the Dukes' lead back to 13-8. The Colonials got back within two, 15-13, when a 7-2 run by Duquesne put the match out of reach at 22-14. The Dukes collected the final three points to secure the win at 25-19.