PITTSBURGH -- The Duquesne University volleyball team fell to Davidson in five sets on Friday night inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.

The Dukes (11-14, 6-11 A-10) rallied to force a fifth set after trailing 2-1, but fell short against the Wildcats (18-9, 10-7 A-10).  

Graduate student Morgan Gish and sophomore Carsyn Henschen tied for the match high in kills with 17 each. Freshman Chloe Wilmot led the match with 47 assists and had 12 digs for a double-double. Madison Grimm paced the team in digs with 23 on her birthday. Grimm had five or more digs in each of the final four sets, with a team-high six digs in the third and fourth sets respectively.  

Davidson took the first set 25-16. The Dukes got in front 11-10 off the back of a 7-2 run, but Davidson regained the lead and never surrendered it. The Wildcats boasted a hit rate of .550, and sophomore Anna Withee recorded four kills in the set. 

The Dukes responded in the second frame, winning 25-19. The Dukes doubled the Wildcats in hit rate, and posted five less errors in the second set. Gish posted seven kills in the set and recorded the first and final points of the set. Grimm recorded a team-high five digs in the set. 

Davidson went up two sets to one with a 25-23 edge in the third set. Despite trailing late, the Dukes rattled off an 8-2 run to make it 23-22. The Wildcats would not surrender the lead, however. Henschen recorded five kills in the frame; a set high.  

The Dukes forced a fifth-and-final set after a 25-16 fourth set. Duquesne posted half the errors the Wildcats did, as well as a hit rate of .257 to .023 for Davidson. Henschen had her second consecutive set with five kills, which was a set high again.  

Davidson finished off the match winning 10 of the final 12 points to take the 3-2 victory.  

Duquesne and Davidson will play again on Saturday at 3 pm. The Dukes will celebrate Senior Day prior to the game. 

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