MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Duquesne volleyball team (3-3) was defeated in five sets by Robert Morris (4-2) in the final match of the RMU/Chick-Fil-A Labor Day Classic Saturday afternoon (25-14, 22-25, 24-26, 25-17, 15-12).
 
Outside Hitters Morgan Kelly (Florance, Ky./Cooper) and Summer Slade (Lancaster, N.Y./St. Mary's) led the Dukes in the loss. Kelly finished with 17 kills and 16 digs, while Slade posted 12 kills and a team-high 17 digs.
 
Middle Hitter Anita Parrott (League City, Texas/Clear Falls) and outside hitter Anna Shoemake (Dayton, Ohio/Beavercreek) each added nine kills, with Parrott chipping in a team-high four blocks. 
 
Defensive specialists Ashley Larson (Highlands Ranch, Colo./Valor Christian) and Camille Spencer (Brentwood, Tenn./Ravenwood) each posted double-digit dig totals with 16 and 15, respectively. Setter Hailey Poling (Uniontown, Ohio/Lake) set up 48 kills and added 10 digs defensively.
 
Robert Morris outside hitter Emma Granger finished with 16 kills and nine blocks to lead the Colonials.
 
The Dukes will travel to Buffalo, New York for the two-day Western New York Invitational starting on Friday, Sept. 10 with a match versus Canisius. The match is slated to start around 11 a.m. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams traded points, before Robert Morris opened up an 11-6 advantage to force a Duquesne timeout. The Dukes rallied back to trail 11-10, but the Colonials rebuilt their lead to 18-11 and closed out the set with six-straight to win 25-14.
• In the second set, neither team held a lead bigger than two points until RMU went ahead 12-9. The Dukes trailed 14-10, before battling back to a tie at 15-15. Each team held the lead late and RMU went up 22-21. DU closed out the set with four-straight points, including two kills by Shoemake, to collect a 25-22 win to even up the match.
• The Dukes faced an 8-4 deficit and eventually trailed 15-13 at the media timeout. DU rolled off four-straight points to take a 17-15 lead. Duquesne led 21-18, before RMU scored five-straight of its own to put the Dukes in a 23-21 hole. DU rallied once again and got a pair of kills from Kelly to even the match up at 24-24. After a service error put the Dukes at set point, Parrott closed the door with a kill to give DU a 26-24 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Duquesne and Robert Morris were tied at 8-8 to open the fourth set. RMU notched four-straight points and eventually put the Dukes in a 16-10 hole. DU managed to rally to within four, 21-17, but RMU managed to hold off DU with four-straight points to force the fifth set. 
• Duquesne trailed 4-3 to start the fifth set. Back-to-back kills by Parrott and a block gave the Dukes a 6-4 lead to force a RMU timeout. DU appeared to take an 8-4 lead, but an overturned call spurred five-straight points for the Colonials and put Duquesne in a 9-7 hole. The fifth set then saw tie scores at nine, 10, and 11, before RMU put the Dukes in a 13-11 hole. A kill by Slade made the score 13-12, but RMU closed out the match with consecutive points to deal the Dukes the loss.