PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University volleyball team travels to Loyola Chicago for its final road trip of the regular season this weekend.

THE BASICS 
October 27, 2023 - 7:00 PM (ET) / 6:00 PM (CT)  | October 28, 2023 - 3:00 PM (ET) / 2:00 PM (CT)
Gentile Arena (Chicago, IL) 

Duquesne Dukes (10-10, 5-7 A-10) 

• Streak: L2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Loyola Chicago Ramblers (12-11, 10-2 A-10) 

• Streak: W10 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

GAMEDAY COVERAGE
Gameday Central  |  Friday: WATCH -- LIVE STATS  |  Saturday: WATCH -- LIVE STATS

THE DUKES 

• The Dukes arrive in the Windy City after falling on the road to nationally ranked Dayton in three sets. 

• Freshman Avery Hobson leads Duquesne with 225 kills. Hobson is one of three Dukes with over 200 kills with sophomore Carsyn Henschen (223) and graduate student Morgan Gish (216) being the others. 

• Henschen, Hobson and Gish all rank within the top 10 in the A-10 in kills per set. Henschen is fourth, Hobson is fifth, and Gish is 10th. 

• Sophomore Madison Grimm is one of three Dukes with over 200 digs. Grimm leads the team with 278 and sits above freshman Chloe Wilmot (209) and Gish (201). Grimm is eighth in the A-10 in total digs. 

• Wilmot leads the Dukes with 786 assists, good for second in the A-10 in both total assists and assists per set. 

• Sophomore Ariel Helm and freshman Jordan Robertson sit at fifth and sixth in the A-10 in blocks per set. Robertson leads the Dukes in total blocks with 75.0.   

THE RAMBLERS 

• Loyola Chicago swept Saint Louis at home last time out and are riding a 10-game win streak.

• Loyola's last loss came on Sept. 23 against Dayton, which was the tail end of a 10-game losing skid. 

• Senior Karlie McNabb leads the Ramblers with 234 kills and ranks ninth in the A-10 in kills per set. 

• Junior Bree Borum leads Loyola with 246 digs. She sits directly above McNabb who has 192 kills. 

• Borum leads the A-10 in triple-doubles and has the seventh most in the country with two.

• The Ramblers have two players in the top 10 in the A-10 in aces in graduate student Addie Barnes (fourth) and Borum (seventh). Barnes has 34 aces, and Borum has 29 on the season. 

• The Ramblers were picked to win the A-10 in the A-10 preseason poll. 

THE SERIES 

• The Dukes are 0-4 in the series dating back to 1992. 

• Duquesne is 0-2 against the Ramblers in the A-10. Last season was Loyola's first in the A-10. The Dukes and Ramblers have never met in Chicago. 

WEEKLY HONORS FOR THE DUKES 

• Chloe Wilmot has collected a league-leading three A-10 Rookie of the Week honors.

• Avery Hobson has also been named A-10 Rookie of the Week twice, most recently 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 five out of the nine 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 recorded her ninth double-double of the season on Tuesday ... Seven of the nine have been in A-10 action ... She has had 20+ assists in all but one match this season with 10 above 40 and five above 50. 

• Avery Hobson is tied for second on the team with seven double-doubles on the year, 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 10 occasions.  

• Morgan Gish also has seven double-doubles, with five 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 12 matches with double-digit kills along with 10 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 11 matches with double-digit kills, including eight of the 11 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 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 every match this season, three of four Dukes to do so. 

OUR COACH 

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

• With an all-time record of 361-382 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 begins a four-game home stand to end the regular season with a doubleheader against George Mason. First serve will be at 6 PM on Friday and at 4 PM on Saturday.

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