PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University volleyball team will be back inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for the first time since September 1 on Tuesday night, hosting No. 20 Dayton in Atlantic 10 action.

THE BASICS 
October 3, 2023 | 5:00 PM | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (Pittsburgh, PA) 

Duquesne Dukes (6-6. 1-3 A-10) 

• Streak: L2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Dayton Flyers (15-2. 4-0 A-10) 

• Streak: W10 | Roster | Stats | Schedule

GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Watch Live on ESPN+  |  Follow Live Stats  |  Gameday Central 

THE DUKES 

• The Dukes are coming in after having been swept by VCU in conference play. Duquesne fell in four sets in both matches against the Rams. 

• Sophomore Carsyn Henschen and graduate student Morgan Gish recorded double-digit kills in each of the two matches. Henschen has led the Dukes in kills in each of the last four matches. Morgan Gish has recorded double-digit kills in her last four matches. She missed her fourth straight double-double by one dig on Saturday.  

• Henschen and Gish are second and third for Duquesne in kills behind freshman Avery Hobson. The three Dukes are third, fifth, and ninth in the A-10 in kills per set. 

• Freshman Chloe Wilmot leads the Dukes with 494 assists in her rookie campaign. Her 10.98 assists per set is good for best in the A-10 and seventh nationally. 

• Sophomore Madison Grimm leads the Dukes with 189 digs on the season. She is seventh in the A-10 in digs per set. Grimm is one of four Dukes with over 100 digs, along with Wilmot, Gish, and Hobson. 

THE FLYERS 

• The Dayton Flyers are ranked 20th in the country and are riding a 10-game winning streak into Pittsburgh. The Flyers have swept Loyola Chicago and Fordham in conference play this season. 

• Dayton's only two losses have came against ranked opponents in #12 Marquette and #2 Louisville in five sets apiece.  

• Dayton has four players over the century mark in kills, including redshirt junior Lexie Almodovar with 260. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Russell, redshirt junior Alayna Yates, and redshirt senior Amelia Moore have 177, 125, and 112 kills respectively.  

• Almodovar is ninth in the nation in kills, and she leads the A-10 in kills per set with 4.33. Russell's 2.9 kills per set is good for tenth best in the conference.  

• Junior Alyssa Miller's 634 assists is ninth nationally, and good for most in the A-10. Her 10.39 assists per set is good for second best in the A-10, behind Duquesne's Wilmot.  

• Dayton has four players with over 100 digs, including sophomore Karissa Kaminski with 269. Behind her are Almodovar with 143, Miller with 131, and freshman Gaby Arroyo with 121. Kaminski is fifth in the A-10 in digs per set. 

• Dayton was picked to finish second and received two first-place votes in the A-10 in the preseason poll. 

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne is 4-53 all-time against Dayton in a series that dates back to 1990. Dayton is 48-3 against the Dukes in A-10 regular season play, with all Duquesne wins coming at home. 

• Duquesne hasn't beaten the Flyers since Nov. 23, 2013 in a matchup at George Washington University. In the 17 matches since, Duquesne has only won nine sets. 

• Duquesne has yet to beat a nationally ranked team under Coach Opperman (0-7).

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. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLES THIS SEASON 

• Morgan Gish (5) - vs. Canisius (9/01), at Robert Morris (9/02), at Fordham (9/22), at Fordham (9/23), at VCU (9/29) 

• Camille Spencer (2) - vs. Canisius x2 (9/01) 

• Avery Hobson (5) - vs. Canisius x2 (9/01), at Robert Morris (9/02), vs Queens (9/16), at Fordham (9/23) 

• Chloe Wilmot (5) - at Binghamton (8/26), vs. Canisius (9/01), vs. Queens (9/16), at Fordham (9/22), at VCU (9/30)

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 started on opening weekend: Jordan Robertson, Avery Hobson, and Chloe Wilmot. 

• Successful players at the highest club and high school levels, the trio has started all 12 matches this season, three of four Dukes to do so. 

BEEN THERE DONE THAT 

• Dayton has nine players on the roster who are in their third season or more. Duquesne has three.  

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM 

• Jordan Robertson – Virginia Tech Classic 

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

• Carsyn Henschen, Madison Grimm – Binghamton Invitational 

WINNINGEST COACH IN PROGRAM HISTORY 

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

• With an all-time record of 357-378 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 will host conference opponent Saint Louis on Oct. 6 and 7. 

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

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