Duquesne volleyball returns to Pittsburgh to host a pair of matches this weekend when Saint Louis and Davidson visit UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes (0-3, 0-3) and Billikens (6-6, 5-1), who met on Sunday in St. Louis, will play Friday at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+), while DU and Davidson (2-5, 1-4), who had a Feb. 5 match originally scheduled for at Davidson postponed, will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday (ESPN+).

A previously announced match between the Dukes and Wildcats on Sunday has been canceled.

These will be the second and third home matches for the Dukes who hosted VCU on Feb. 12 before playing at Dayton and St. Louis last weekend.

Duquesne has already faced the No. 1 (Dayton), No. 2 (VCU) and No. 3 (Saint Louis) projected finishers according to the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches Poll.

Neither match this weekend will be open to the pubic. A small number of tickets will be allotted to the Duquesne team.


THE SERIES VS. SAINT LOUIS

• Saint Louis was picked third in the A-10 preseason poll with 84 points, just three behind second-place pick VCU.
• The Duquesne match will be the 13th for the Billikens who have already faced four Atlantic 10 opponents in VCU, Davidson, Dayton and Duquesne.
• Saint Louis is 5-1 in conference matches.
• SLU is 0-3 on the road with losses at Western Kentucky (0-3), VCU (1-3) and at #24 Marquette (1-3). SLU has won two sets in its three road matches.
• The Billikens lead the series with Duquesne 21-6, including a 9-4 advantage in matches in Pittsburgh. The two have split the past two matches at DU.

THE SERIES VS. DAVIDSON

• Duquesne leads the series 8-3, including a 4-1 advantage in Pittsburgh and 6-3 lead in regular season matches.
• DU won the first eight matches between the two, while Davidson has taken the past three.
• Davidson was picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, one point behind Duquesne.

QUICK HITS

• This just the second match on campus for Duquesne since 2018. DU played its 2019 home matches at nearby Mt. Lebanon High School due to renovation of the on-campus UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The Dukes hosted VCU at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Feb. 12.
• Duquesne's remaining home matches will be played at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
• DU, playing without a true home venue, finished 10-17 in 2019. Duquesne returns over 75 percent of its kills, 57 percent of its assists and 94 percent of its digs from a year ago. The Dukes also welcome back four of their top five leaders in kills, the leader in total assists, and the top-five players in digs.
• Morgan Kelly, a 2019 Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team pick, led the Dukes and ranked eighth in the A-10 with 3.00 kills per set during conference play. Other major contributors returning include: junior Summer Slade (2.64 kills/set, 3.0 digs per set), senior Maria Mosbacher (2.55 kills/set), sophomore Hailey Poling (5.26 assists/set, 2.43 digs/set), sophomore Ashley Larson (3.38 digs/set) and senior Claire Boe (3.21 digs/set).
• Olivia Alessi, Camille Spencer and Riley Speelman are freshman newcomers. Alessi and Spencer made their DU debuts vs. VCU.
• Kelly led the Dukes with 11 kills in the season-opening match vs. VCU. Larson paced DU with 11 digs.
• The Dukes are coming of a 0-3 loss at Saint Louis on Sunday (22-25, 24-26, 13-25). Slade led the Dukes with 10 kills. Anita Parrott had a match-high six blocks and Poling had a team-high 23 assists.
• Duquesne head coach Steve Opperman, in his 30th season as a head coach (448-329), enters the weekend with 448 career victories. The winningest coach in DU volleyball history, Opperman is 329-329 in his 23rd season on the Bluff. He is a four-time A-10 Coach of the Year - 2001 (co-), 2004 (co-), 2010 (co-) and 2013. He guided the program to its first NCAA Championship appearance in school history in 2013. Opperman came to Duquesne in 1998 after seven seasons as head coach at Wright State.
   

2021 ATLANTIC 10 POD FORMAT
The Atlantic 10 has adopted a pod system for the spring season, with Duquesne placed in the West Pod with Davidson, Dayton, Saint Louis and VCU. Dayton, VCU and Saint Louis were picked to finish first, second and third in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll released in late January. The Dukes were tabbed fifth, one point ahead of Davidson.