PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne University volleyball team swept the Rhode Island Rams on the road Friday night.

Duquesne improves to 4-16 (1-7 A-10) while URI moves to 4-17 (0-8 A-10).  

It was a quick sweep for the Dukes as they took down Rhode Island in less than an hour and a half.

It was an all-around effort for Duquesne, but senior Morgan Kelly led the Dukes with 11 kills. She was the only Duke with double-digit kills.

Senior Anita Parrott may have only had seven kills, but she led the team in points thanks to her seven total blocks, which is a new season high.

Graduate student Elizabeth Osborn had the second-most kills with eight. Freshman Carsyn Henschen was right behind her with seven of her own.  

Coming off a career-high six blocks, freshman Ariel Helm had four more tonight.  

Senior Hailey Poling had 28 assists and tied a career high with six blocks of her own.

As a team, Duquesne notched 12 total blocks while Rhode Island had only four. The biggest difference of the match was the amount of errors by the two teams, as Rhode Island had 29 while Duquesne had 16.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Dukes may have produced its most dominant set of the year to begin this match as they took down the Rams 25-15. Even that score doesn't show how well they played. They got up 8-3 right away, then quickly extended that lead to 14-5 after a 6-0 run. Rhode Island showed some fight late, but Duquesne had this set wrapped up early.

The second set was much closer, with the Rams being within two points at 24-22. The Dukes would ultimately close them out, but this one could have been over quickly as well. Piggy-backing off the first set, Duquesne held an 18-12 lead before coughing it up to Rhode Island. Luckily for the Dukes, they held on.

The last set proved to put the Dukes in some trouble. Rhode Island played much better, especially early. The Rams jumped out to a 6-2 lead, which they would extend to 11-6. Despite being down five, the Dukes chipped away and eventually tied it up at 18-18. From there, the Dukes found their spark and ended the set on a 9-1 run, giving them the clean sweep.
 
GAME NOTES

• Kelly ranks second on the team and ninth in the conference with 181 kills. Her 2.78 kills per set lead the team.
• This is the third three-set match that Kelly has recorded 10 or more kills.
• Henschen has 199 kills, which leads the team and ranks sixth in the A-10.
• Poling's 620 assists are the second-most in the conference, as are her 8.49 assists per set.
• Freshman Madison Grimm had 15 digs tonight, making it her 15^th game in which she has recorded double-digit kills this season.
• This marks Duquesne's second sweep of the year, with the other coming against Purdue Fort Wayne on Sept. 16.

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