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Duquesne University Athletics

Morgan Kelly with a kill against Canisius
Phil Pavely

Women's Volleyball

PREVIEW: Volleyball Opens A-10 Play at Davidson

PITTSBURGH – The Duquesne volleyball team travels to Davidson to open Atlantic 10 play this weekend. The Dukes will play the first match Friday at 7:00 P.M. ET and continue play on Saturday at 4:00 P.M.

Friday's match will available to watch on ESPN+ and live stats will be available for both games.

SERIES BREAKDOWN VS. DAVIDSON
  • All-Time Series: Duquesne is 11-4 all-time against Davidson.
  • First Meeting: Aug. 30, 2003 at DUQ – DUQ won 3-0
  • Last Meeting: Nov. 19, 2021 at DUQ – DUQ won 3-0 | Recap | Box Score
  • Streak: Duquesne, W1
THE DUKES
  • Duquesne is 3-9 heading into conference play. It went 1-1 this past week at the Toledo Challenge.
  • The Dukes have won two out of the past three games, with the wins coming against Southern Indiana and Purdue Fort Wayne.
  • Freshman Carsyn Henschen leads the team and ranks third in the A-10 with 136 kills.
  • Henschen was named to the Duquesne/RMU Invitational All-Tournament Team Sept. 3 after totaling 41 kills and seven service aces in the three matches.
  • Freshman Ariel Helm was named to the Chattanooga Classic All-Tournament Team Sept. 10. She leads the team with 48 blocks, which ranks fifth in the conference.
  • Senior Morgan Kelly ranks second on the team with 2.68 kills per set. The senior returns after earning a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team in 2021 after putting up 3.48 kills per set, which was the second-best in the conference.
  • Senior Anita Parrott was named to the Penn State Invitational All-Tournament Team after the first weekend of the season. She recorded 15 kills and 1.1 blocks per set in the three matches. She has missed the last nine matches.
  • Since transitioning to a larger role five matches ago, graduate student Elizabeth Osborn has averaged 13 kills per match and 11.8 digs per match.
  • Senior setter Hailey Poling ranks third in the conference with 364 assists and 8.09 assists per set. She led the A-10 with 1,114 assists in 2021. 
  • Sophomore Anna Shoemake returns after being named to the A-10 All-Rookie Team last season after ranking fourth on the team with 254 points and third with 206 kills.
  • The Dukes are coming off of a 13-16 (7-9 A-10) season that ended in the A-10 Championship semifinals against the eventual-champion Dayton in a five-set thriller.
  • Three of the Dukes' top four point-getters return for the 2022 season.
  • Duquesne was picked to finish sixth in the A-10 by the league's coach in the 2022 Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll.
DUQUESNE HEAD COACH STEVE OPPERMAN (Ohio State '87)
  • Steve Opperman enters his 25th season as the head coach of the Dukes in 2021.
  • He owns a career-record of 465-475 and a mark of 346-359 at Duquesne.
  • Opperman collected his 450th-career victory with a 3-0 win over Youngstown State in the 2021 season opener.
  • The New Bremen, Ohio native is Duquesne's all-time winningest coach with 344 career victories on The Bluff.
  • He is a four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (co-2001, co-2004, co-2010 and 2013).
  • Opperman coached the first two AVCA All-Americans in program history, Liz Homan (2010) and Arielle Love (2014).
  • The Ohio State alum has coached 16 First or Second Team A-10 All-Conference players (a total of 24 times).
  • He has coached 23 A-10 All-Rookie Team members.
  • Opperman arrived in Pittsburgh in 1998 after spending seven seasons as the head coach at Wright State, where he amassed a record of 119-116 from 1991-97.
SCOUTING DAVIDSON (ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATS)
  • Davidson is 6-5 heading into conference play. It went 1-1 this past weekend with a win over Charlotte.
  • Sophomore Isabel Decker and freshman Emma Slusser have been quite the duo this year, leading the Wildcats with 104 and 99 kills, respectively.
  • Sophomore Xuan Nguyen has 196 assists while junior Jessie Doyla has 194.
  • Junior Bella Brady has 188 digs which ranks fourth in the A-10. Senior Anela Davis' 52 blocks ranks third in the A-10.
  • Davidson brought in six newcomers this year after finishing 14-13 last season.
  • The Wildcats were picked to finish fifth in the A-10 this season.
  • Chris Willis has been the Davidson head coach since the 2011 season.
FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and updates for Duquesne volleyball, follow @DuqVB on Twitter and Instagram.
 
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Players Mentioned

Hailey Poling

#11 Hailey Poling

S
5' 8"
Junior
NOVA Juniors
Anna Shoemake

#2 Anna Shoemake

OH/RS
6' 4"
Freshman
Elite VBC
Morgan Kelly

#4 Morgan Kelly

OH
6' 3"
Senior
Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club
Anita Parrott

#14 Anita Parrott

MH
6' 1"
Senior
Houston Stellar Volleyball Club
Ariel Helm

#5 Ariel Helm

MB
6' 0"
Freshman
Carsyn Henschen

#6 Carsyn Henschen

OH
6' 1"
Freshman
Elizabeth Osborn

#13 Elizabeth Osborn

OH
5' 11"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Hailey Poling

#11 Hailey Poling

5' 8"
Junior
NOVA Juniors
S
Anna Shoemake

#2 Anna Shoemake

6' 4"
Freshman
Elite VBC
OH/RS
Morgan Kelly

#4 Morgan Kelly

6' 3"
Senior
Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club
OH
Anita Parrott

#14 Anita Parrott

6' 1"
Senior
Houston Stellar Volleyball Club
MH
Ariel Helm

#5 Ariel Helm

6' 0"
Freshman
MB
Carsyn Henschen

#6 Carsyn Henschen

6' 1"
Freshman
OH
Elizabeth Osborn

#13 Elizabeth Osborn

5' 11"
Graduate Student
OH

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