Davidson, NC. – Despite bringing the match back to even with a fourth set victory, the Dukes rally fell short as it dropped a 3-2 decision at Davidson on Friday night inside John M. Belk Arena during Atlantic 10 action. The Duquesne University volleyball team dropped to 13-9 overall while slipping to 4-6 in conference action.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Trailing 16-12 midway through the opening set, Duquesne rallied with a pair of runs to secure a 25-22 set victory. An attacking error started the run for the Dukes before juniors Ariel Helm and Carsyn Henschen registered a block. Later in the stint, Henschen found the floor successfully, followed by a service ace from graduate student Grace Kristofic and a rejection from sophomore Jordan Robertson and freshman Emersen Schrom, 20-19. After a timeout from the Wildcats, Duquesne responded and strung together a 6-2 stint to secure the opening stanza. Graduate student Elizabeth Drelling registered a kill followed by a Davidson miscue and a block from Robertson and classmate Avery Hobson. After a Wildcats point, Hobson found the floor for a point, followed by a rejection from Schrom and a kill from the freshman to end the set.

SPECTACULAR SWINGS
After dropping sets two and three, the Duke bounced back in set four, putting on an impressive hitting display. Duquesne finished with 19 kills and a .529 swing percentage during a 25-18 victory. The Dukes jumped out to a huge 15-7 advantage, thanks to four kills from Drelling and three successful swings from Henschen. Davidson would record a point before the Dukes stretched its lead to 10 (20-10), thanks to a pair of kills from Henschen and Drelling. After both teams traded the next six points, the Wildcats put together a 5-1 run to trim the deficit, 24-18. Drelling put a stop to the run and captured the set win for Duquesne with a successful swing.

DECIDING SET
In the final set, Davidson (10-11 / 6-4) held a 10-5 advantage before Duquesne scored five of the next six points to cut the deficit, 11-10. A miscue from Davidson sparked the run followed by kills from Helm and Schrom. After a Wildcats point, Hobson found the floor successfully and Hell collected a solo rejection to force a Davidson timeout. Out of the break, the home team rattled off four of the final five points to take the match 15-11.

THE QUINTET
For the first time this season, the Dukes featured five players with double digit kills. Elizabeth Drelling led the way with 17 kills on a .424 hitting percentage to go along with six digs and two total blocks. Ariel Helm and Carsyn Henschen each tallied 11 successful swings while Helm collected eight rejections and a .429 swing percentage while Henschen totaled four blocks. Emersen Schrom registered and Avery Hobson both registered 10 kills while Hobson recorded her third double-double with 10 digs. The five Dukes accounted for 59 of Duquesne's 62 kills on the night

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Sophomore Chloe Wilmot led the way with 28 assists and eight digs while Grace Kristofic tallied 26 helpers and six digs. Junior Madison Grimm carded a season-high and a team-leading 22 digs while posting two assists and one ace. The 62 kills is tied for the most in a match this season while the 14 total blocks is tied for the second best.

UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes its series with Davidson on Saturday, Oct. 26, with the opening serve scheduled for 6:00 p.m.