PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University volleyball team is set to host Rhode Island on Friday and Saturday inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during Homecoming and Family Weekend.

THE BASICS 
October 20, 2023 - 6:00 PM | October 21, 2023 - 4:00 PM 

UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (Pittsburgh, PA) 

Rhode Island Rams (3-18, 0-9 A-10) 

• Streak: L9 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Duquesne Dukes (9-8, 4-5 A-10) 

• Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule  

GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Watch Live on ESPN+ (FRIDAY ONLY)  |  Follow Live Stats  |  Gameday Central

THE DUKES 

• The Dukes are coming in off a split on the road against George Washington. Duquesne lost the first match in a five-set thriller before taking the second match in three sets. 

• DU is 4-1 at home this season, the only loss coming to No. 20 ranked Dayton.

• Freshman Chloe Wilmot was named A-10 Rookie of the Week this past week, her third time receiving the honor. Wilmot recorded a double-double, her seventh of the season, on Friday with 43 assists and a career-high 18 digs. 

• Wilmot leads the Dukes in assists and sits three shy of 700. Her 10.56 assists per set leads the A-10 and is in the top 25 nationally. 

• Freshman Avery Hobson leads Duquesne in kills, sitting at 200. The Fishers, Ind. product is fourth in the A-10 in kills per set. 

• Sophomore Carsyn Henschen and graduate student Morgan Gish are fifth and ninth in the A-10 in kills per set respectively. Henschen has 192 kills on the year while Gish has 189.  

• Sophomore Madison Grimm leads the Dukes with 246 digs, good for eighth most in the A-10 in total digs. 

THE RAMS 

• The Rhode Island Rams come to Pittsburgh on a nine-game losing streak. The Rams' last win was over a month ago against Stonehill. 

• Rhode Island is off to its worst start in conference play since joining the A-10. 

• Freshman Madi Disu leads the Rams in kills with 179 on the season. She ranks 13th in kills per set in the A-10. 

• Redshirt sophomore Hope Passerello leads Rhode Island with 301 assists. Junior Katie Butler sits at 200 assists, good for second-best on the team. 

• Junior Hannah Blaney's 288 digs is good for most on the team and for seventh-most in the A-10. 

• Rhode Island was picked to finish last in the A-10 preseason poll. 

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne is 22-40 all-time against Rhode Island in the series dating back to 1986.  

• Duquesne and Rhode Island split the two matches last year, with Duquesne taking the opener in three sets before dropping the rematch in four.  

WEEKLY HONORS FOR THE DUKES

• Chloe Wilmot earned her league-leading third A-10 Rookie of the Week honor last week after collecting her seventh double-double and averaging 10.25 assists per set at GW.

• Avery Hobson has also been named A-10 Rookie of the Week twice, most recently two weeks ago after posting double-digit kills in each of the thrilling, five-set victories over conference foe Saint Louis along with a match-high 17 kills and early career-best 16 digs in the Friday night victory.

• A Duquesne player has taken the honor four out of the seven times this year ... It is the first time since 2012 that a Duke has earned multiple Rookie of the Week honors, when Mary Henry garnered five ... The last time the Dukes had two players earn multiple player of the week awards was 2008, when Tricia Mullen and Liz Homan won two and three times, respectively. 

• Morgan Gish also earned Player of the Week on September 5. 

STANDOUT PERFORMERS 

• Chloe Wilmot moved up to tie for the team lead with her seventh double-double of the year last Friday - posting 43 assists with 18 digs ... Five of the seven have been in A-10 action ... She has had 20+ assists in every match so far this season with nine above 40 and five above 50.

• Avery Hobson is tied with Wilmot for the team lead with seven double-doubles this season, most recently a career-high 16 digs with 17 kills in the five-set win over Saint Louis ... Hobson has posted double-digit kills ten times and 10+ digs on nine occasions. 

• Morgan Gish has six double-doubles, with four coming in conference play including in the five-set finale versus Saint Louis with 15 kills and 15 digs ... The Kansas City, Mo. native has a team-high 11 matches with double-digit kills along with nine matches with 10+ digs. 

• Camille Spencer recorded a pair of double-doubles in the doubleheader against Canisius on September 1, including a career-high 21 kills in the night cap. 

• Carsyn Henschen charted a double-double on opening weekend with 22 kills and 10 digs against Binghamton ... The New Knoxville, Ohio native has had 10 matches with double-digit kills, including seven of the nine league matches.

STRONG START 

• Duquesne's 5-1 record was the school's best start since 2012.  

• Last year the Dukes didn't win their fifth game until October 22, while this year they reached five wins in their sixth game on September 2. 

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS 

• The Dukes garnered all-tournament team recognition at all three of their non-conference tournaments early in the season. 

• Jordan Robertson – Virginia Tech Classic  

• Morgan Gish (MVP), Chloe Wilmot, Avery Hobson – RMU Invite  

• Carsyn Henschen, Madison Grimm – Binghamton Invitational 

PRESEASON POLL 

• Duquesne was picked to finish eighth out of 10 in the A-10 Preseason Poll after an 8-22 (5-13 A-10) record in 2022. 

• Defending A-10 champion Loyola Chicago was tabbed the favorite with 97 points and seven first place votes. Dayton (2) and Davidson (1) also received first-place votes, taking second and third in the poll. 

FRESHMAN STARTERS  

• Coach Opperman brought in four talented freshmen this season, three of which have started every match this season: Jordan Robertson, Avery Hobson, and Chloe Wilmot. 

• Successful players at the highest club and high school levels, they are three of four Dukes to start every match. 

OUR COACH 

• The Dukes are led by 26th year head coach Steve Opperman. 

• With an all-time record of 360-380 at Duquesne, Opperman has the most wins of any coach in program history. 

• Four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (co-2001, co-2004, co-2010 and 2013) 

• Opperman, whose teams have appeared in nine of the past 13 Atlantic 10 postseason tournaments, guided the Dukes to the school's first A-10 regular season and tournament championship in 2013. The 2013 Dukes went on to make the first NCAA Championship appearance in school history. 

• Opperman entered the season with 470 career wins (Wright State & Duquesne). 

ACADEMIC SUCCESS 

• Duquesne earned its fifth consecutive and 13th overall AVCA Team Academic Award for its classroom success last year. 

• DU's 13 AVCA Academic Awards most in A-10 since 1992-93 

UP NEXT 

• Duquesne travels to Dayton on Tuesday at 5 pm, before visiting Loyola Chicago for a Friday (6 pm) - Saturday (2 pm) doubleheader. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and updates for Duquesne volleyball, follow @DuqVB on Twitter (X) and Instagram.