PITTSBURGH – Led by a career-high 22 kills from Summer Slade (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Mary's), the Dukes picked up a 3-1 win over George Mason Sunday in an Atlantic 10 match at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Senior Day.
 
Duquesne (12-14, 7-8 A-10) defeated the Patriots (5-20, 3-11 A-10) by set scores of 25-14, 25-14, 24-26, 25-22). The win effectively secures no worse than the No. 5-seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament, which will be hosted by Duquesne starting on Nov. 19 at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
Slade had one of the best performances of her career in the home-finale. The senior finished with 22 kills on 46 swings with just three errors. Her .413 hitting percentage is a career-best with over 30 total attacks. Slade also added 14 digs and four blocks (one solo) for a double-double.
 
Morgan Kelly (Florence, Ky./Cooper) also turned in an impressive line of 19 kills on 39 attacks (.385 hitting percentage), while Ego Onu (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale) chipped in eight kills.
 
Hailey Poling (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) tossed out 47 assists and help set up the team to hit a season-best .363 on the day.
 
Camille Spencer (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) paced the defense with a team-high 22 digs.
 
George Mason was led by Olyvia Kennedy's 13 kills, while Marlanna Bozicevich collected a match-high 26 digs.
 
Prior to the match the Dukes recognized their five seniors for their contributions to the program. In addition to Slade and Onu, the team honored Camryn Thomas (Eldred, Pa./Otto-Eldred), Brittne Weigand (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington) and Nicolette Jones (Burr Ridge, Ill./Lyons Township). Jones responded with a career-high five kills on six attacks (.833) in the win.
 
Duquesne will close out the regular-season on Saturday, Nov. 13 when it travels to take on Saint Louis. The match will start at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT) and will broadcast on ESPN+.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Dukes opened up a 13-8 lead to force the first timeout of the match. Mason got the next point, but a run of six-straight for Duquesne allowed it to build a 19-9 advantage. The Dukes posted a trio of blocks during the run, including three block assists by Onu. DUQ eventually closed out the set at 25-14 on a Kelly kill.
• Duquesne built a 6-2 lead early in the second set. The Patriots closed the gap to 7-6, before an 11-1 run by the Dukes put the set out of reach at 18-7. Duquesne yielded a handful of points to Mason, but the Dukes managed to put away the set at 25-14.
• George Mason put Duquesne in a 17-11 hole and appeared to be on its way to an easy set win in the fourth stanza. The Dukes battled all the way back staved off a trio of set-point attempts by the Patriots to tie the score at 24-24. Mason managed to recollect the lead and denied a sweep with a 26-24 win to make the score 2-1.
• The two teams went back-and-forth early in the fourth set. Mason led 10-9, before the Dukes notched six-straight to take a 15-10 lead. The Patriots responded with four-straight of their own to narrow the gap and eventually trailed 18-17. Duquesne closed in on the match with five-straight points to make the score 23-17. George Mason battled back to within two, 24-22, but Kelly put the finishing touches on the victory with a kill to clinch the match in four sets.