KENT, Ohio – The Duquesne volleyball team (4-6) was handed a 3-1 loss by Youngstown State (3-8) in a non-conference match at the Golden Flashes Invitational hosted by Kent State Friday evening.
 
The Dukes lost by set scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-27, 25-14.
 
Outside hitter Morgan Kelly (Florence, Ky./Cooper) led Duquesne with 17 kills. Middle hitter Ego Onu (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) chipped in 10 in the loss, while outside hitter Summer Slade (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Mary's) finished one kill shy of a kill-dig double-double with nine kills and 10 digs.
 
Setter Hailey Poling (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) tossed around 37 assists and libero Camille Spencer (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) paced the defensive efforts with 19 digs.
 
Youngstown State finished with 46 kills, compared to the 45 posted by the Dukes. The difference came in the service game, as the Penguins posted 24 aces, including 13 by Paula Gursching. Gursching led YSU with a match-high 18 kills.
 
The Dukes will wrap-up the non-conference portion of their schedule tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 18 when they take on Kent State to close out the Golden Flashes Invitational. The first serve of the match is set for 4 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Youngstown State put the Dukes in a 13-4 deficit early in the first set. Duquesne managed to rally back and tie the set at 15-15 with a combined six kills between Kelly and Slade. The Penguins did not allow DU to take the lead and put the Dukes back into a hole at 19-15, before taking the first set at 25-20.
• Duquesne fell behind in the second set 8-4, but rallied once again to tie it at 10-10. The Dukes led 12-11, but the Penguins reclaimed the lead and went on a run to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-17 set victory.
• The third set was tied at 11-11, before the Dukes built a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. After YSU took the lead at 18-16, DU managed to even up the set at 20-20. Youngstown State eventually reached match-point at 24-22, but Duquesne battled off a trio of match points and took a 26-25 lead. Slade completed the comeback effort with a kill to end the third set at 27-25 for the Dukes.
• YSU took built an 8-4 lead in the fourth set and eventually put Duquesne in a 16-9 deficit.  The Dukes got it as close as 11-8, but the Penguins went on a run to close out the match with a 25-14 win in the fourth set.