PITTSBURGH - The Duquesne University volleyball team is gearing up for a busy weekend of tournament play in the Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational this weekend. The Dukes will take on Canisius in their home opener at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse twice on Friday, at 11 am and 6 pm, respectively, then will be at Robert Morris on Saturday at 6 pm in Moon Township.

THE BASICS 

Sept. 1-2, 2023 | Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 

Duquesne Dukes (2-1. 0-0 A-10) 

• Streak: W1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Canisius Golden Griffins (2-1, 0-0 MAAC) 

• Streak: W2 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Robert Morris Colonials (1-2, 0-0 HORIZON) 

• Streak: L1 | Roster | Stats | Schedule 

Visit the Gameday Central page for live video (ESPN+) and stat links for every Duquesne game. 

SCHEDULE 

• Friday: Canisius @ Duquesne – 11 AM and 6 PM 

• Saturday: Canisius @ Robert Morris – 11 AM 

• Saturday: Duquesne @ Robert Morris – 6 PM 

THE DUKES 

• The Dukes are coming off a strong opening weekend tournament last weekend at the Binghamton Invitational, beating Saint Peters and Merrimack in straight sets while losing to Binghamton in four.  

• Sophomores Carsyn Henschen and Madison Grimm, who both were Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selections a year ago, received all-tournament honors at Binghamton and freshman Chloe Wilmot took home the A-10 Rookie of the Week award. 

• Henschen, an outside hitter, led DU with 48 kills (4.8 per set) and a .333 hitting percentage. The New Knoxville, Ohio native posted double-digit kills in all three matches, including a career-high 22 with 10 digs in her first career double-double performance against Binghamton. Henschen also served an A-10 leading six aces on opening weekend with two in each match. 

• Grimm led the Dukes back line defense with 32 digs (3.20 per set) and had a .942 reception percentage. The South Charleston, Ohio native recorded double-digit digs in each of the first two matches, with a team-leading 13 in the season-opening win over Saint Peter's, and added seven assists, four of which in the weekend finale sweep of Merrimack. 

• Wilmot, an Alexandria Va. native, totaled 104 assists over the three-game stretch for an average of 10.40 assists per set, the most in the A-10. She dished out an early career-best 47 in the four-set match against Binghamton and made 11 digs for her first collegiate double-double. Wilmot had the game-high assist total in all three matches, adding 30 and 27 in the DU victories. 

• Morgan Gish, a graduate transfer from Tennessee Tech, has made an immediate impact on the outside. Gish posted nine kills and 10 digs with four aces in the season-opening win over Saint Peter's, then had a game-high 13 kills and four blocks in the sweep of Merrimack. 

• Ariel Helm (9.0 blocks) and Gish (8.0 blocks) lead the defense at the net, while five players (Grimm, Wilmot, Henschen, Avery Hobson, and Gish) average over two digs per set … Madison Grimm leads the quintet at 3.20 digs per set. 

• Duquesne leads the A-10 in opponent hitting percentage at .143 and held Saint Peter's to an .056 hit percentage in its season opening sweep. 

LAST TIME OUT 

• Duquesne powered its way past Merrimack with its most efficient outing of opening weekend (.325 hitting percentage) to earn a sweep. 

• The Dukes took control of the match with a late first-set run, then scored seven straight to begin the second set and never looked back. Merrimack was vying for a fourth set, but seven of the final eight points went to the Dukes to put it away. 

• Morgan Gish had a game-high 13 kills and Chloe Wilmot led all players with 27 assists. Gish and Ariel Helm had four blocks each. 

THE GRIFFS 

• The Canisius Griffins enter the weekend with a record of 2-1 after losing in five sets to Youngstown State then bouncing back to beat Saint Francis (3-1) and Belmont (3-0) last weekend in the YSU Invitational.  

• Freshman outside hitter Lauren Hubert was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week after recording 33 kills, 13 digs, and two total blocks. 

• Ella Loussia, a graduate student outside hitter, leads the team with 42 kills (3.5 per set) and has a conference-leading nine aces. 

• The Griffs are first in the MAAC in total kills (136), hitting percentage (.218) and assists per set (10.83). 

• Canisius was picked to finish 5th in the MAAC Preseason Coaches' Poll … Ella Bourque, a sophomore setter, was named to the preseason all-conference team. 

• The Griffs were 13-15 with an 11-7 conference mark in 2022 finishing in fourth place in their conference. 

THE COLONIALS 

• The Robert Morris Colonials enter the tournament with a 1-2 record after beating Niagara and losing to Loyola Maryland and Delaware in the Blue Hen Invitational.  

• RMU is fueled by freshman Natalie Stepanovich and her 39 kills on the season and her 47 total points. Stepanovich and Ashleigh Wallin each have six service aces to lead the team. 

• RMU owns a hitting percentage of .163 after the first three games, while opponents are hitting .221. 

• The Colonials return 11 letterwinners from 2022, including senior middle blocker/right side Emma Brown and senior outside hitter Abby Ryan, who each appeared in all 30 matches a season ago. RMU also added five newcomers. 

• RMU was picked to finish 9th in the nine-team Horizon League this season. Last season, the Colonials went 9-21 with a 2-16 mark in league play. 

THE SERIES 

• Duquesne is 7-2 against Canisius all-time in a series that goes back to 1990 … The teams have played each of the last two seasons with the Dukes winning both meetings and enters this weekend with a three-match win streak against the Griffs … Last season, DU downed Canisius in four sets inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Sept. 2. 

• Duquesne is 34-10 against Robert Morris in a series that dates to 1986 … The Dukes and Colonials have played every full season since the 1986 series start except for 1997 … RMU snapped an 11-match DU win streak from 2008-2018 with a sweep at home in 2019 and has since won three in a row against Duquesne entering this weekend's matchup … Each of the past two meetings have gone to five sets. 

STRONG START 

• Duquesne is off to a 2-1 start for the fourth time in the past six full seasons and third time in the past five overall seasons. 

• Of those four, only twice did a 3-1 record follow (2021 and 2016). 

DOUBLE-DOUBLES THIS SEASON 

• Chloe Wilmot (1) - 47 assists / 11 digs at Binghamton (8/26) 

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 is fitting right into the mix at Duquesne after three games.  

• Wilmot earned A-10 Rookie of the Week … Hobson slammed 31 kills (second on the team) … Robertson had six blocks up front and served four aces. 

WINNINGEST COACH IN PROGRAM HISTORY 

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

• With an all-time record of 353-373 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 travel to the Penn Invitational next weekend (Sept. 8-9) for three games against Coppin State, Penn, and Lafayette. 

FOLLOW THE DUKES 

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