DAYTON, OH - Duquesne (0-2, 0-2 A10) battled Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Dayton (2-1, 1-1 A10) before falling 3-1 (16-25, 15-25, 28-26, 17-25) on Friday night at Frericks Center in Dayton, Ohio.

The Dukes, down 2-0, survived four match points in taking set three 28-26. DU led 15-13 in set four, before the Flyers rallied to take the match.

Morgan Kelly hit .341 in leading the Dukes with 16 kills. Maria Mosbacher added 11 kills with a .440 kill percentage. Hailey Poling had 31 assists, nine digs and four kills for DU. Summer Slade paced Duquesne with 10 digs.

Lexie Almodovar had a match-high 28 kills for Dayton.

Dayton outhit Duquesne .538 to .333, with the Dukes outhitting the Flyers .457 to .432 in set three.

The UD match was the first of two in a row on the road for the Dukes who return to action on Sunday at Saint Louis at 1:00 p.m (ET) on ESPN+.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dayton jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before the Dukes cut it to 10-6 on a kill by Ego Onu. Onu's kill ignited a run of five-straight points for DU which tied it at 10-10 on a UD attack error. Dayton's Lexie Almodovar and Jamie Peterson combined for six kills to help the Flyers build a 21-13 lead. Morgan Kelly led DU with five kills. Summer Slade had three digs for the Dukes who were outhit .355 to .156.
   
• A nice misdirection shot by Haley Poling made it 10-6 early in set two. Kelly's seventh kill kept DU in striking distance at 12-8, but the Dukes could get no closer as UD got three kills from Almodovar to build a 19-12 lead, prompting a DU timeout. A nice touch by Poling was the first of back-to-back points by the Dukes out of the break, but Almodovar registered another kill to return momentum to the Flyers who went on the finish out the set.
   
• Back-to-back kills by Onu and Kelly cut a Dayton lead to 8-7 early in set three. Kelly's 12th kill made it 10-8. DU cut it to one three times before tying it at 13-13 on back-to-back Summer Slade kills. Duquesne took its first lead since 1-0 in set two at 15-14 at the media timeout. DU went up 18-15 on an Onu block assist, forcing a Dayton timeout. The Dukes led 20-18 following a Dayton attack error, before the Flyers tied it at 20-20 on an Almodovar kill. Dayton took a 23-21 lead on a block forcing a Duquesne timeout. DU staved off a three match points to tie it at 24-24 with Poling making a pair of digs on the 24th point. Slade tied it at 25-25 on a kill and Claire Boe's service ace gave the Dukes a 26-25 lead. An Onu kill gave DU a 27-26 lead before Poling put it away off an assist from Morgan.
   
• Duquesne rode the momentum from its set three win to take a 4-1 lead in set four. Ashley Larson's ace made it 6-2. DU scored three-straight points to up their lead to 11-6 and force a Dayton timeout. A Kelly kill made it 12-7, before Dayton cut to 12-10 before making a service error. Dayton tied it for the first time at 15-15. The Flyers took a 17-15 lead on a Peterson kill forcing a Duquesne timeout. DU was down two at 19-17, when Dayton scored the last six points to seal the match.