Pittsburgh, Pa. - The Duquesne University volleyball team fell to #20 Dayton in its 2023 Atlantic 10 home opener at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse Tuesday, 3-0.
Dayton took the opening set, 25-21, fueled by a late run. The score was tied 12 times in the first set, with the Dukes owning a 20-18 advantage after a service ace from outside hitter
Morgan Gish followed by an attack error by the Flyers. Dayton would rally, using a 7-1 run to close the set and grab a 1-0 lead in the match. Duquesne led in the kills department, 15-12, , while Lexie Almodovar, Dayton's leader in kills, led all players with seven kills in the opener.
The Flyers took over in the second set, grabbing leads of 13-4 and 20-9 en route to earning a 25-10 win and extending its lead in the match to 2-0. Offensively, the Flyers doubled the Dukes in kills, 15-7, while boasting a .464 attack percentage. Dayton led throughout the whole set and boasted leads of 13-4 and 20-9.
The third set was much more akin to the first, with Dayton keeping Duquesne at bay before the Dukes closed to within 20-18 on back-to-back attack errors by Almodovar. Dayton (16-2 / 5-0 A-10) steadied, with Almodovar providing a service ace to ignite the final rally. During the third set Almodovar posted six kills, while Alyssa Miller dished out 14 of her 32 assists in the ultimate set for the Flyers.
Duquesne (6-7 / 1-4 A-10) was led by freshman
Avery Hobson in the kills department, as she tallied nine to push her season total to 154. Freshman
Chloe Wilmot recorded a team-high 25 assists and bumped her total up to 519 on the year. Almodovar recorded a double-double thanks to a match-high 18 kills to go along with 10 digs, while Gish earned match-high honors in digs with 13 for Duquesne.
The Dukes welcome Saint Louis Friday, Oct. 6, for the first of two matches at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. First serve is 6:00 p.m., while the two teams will meet again at 2:00 p.m. Saturday. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
