MATCHES 27, 28
VCU  (14-8, 12-2) vs. Duquesne (13-13, 4-10)
Friday, November 8 | 6:00 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+)

VCU  (14-8, 12-2) vs. Duquesne (13-13, 4-10)
Saturday, November 9 | 4:00 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Live Stats 

2024 Roster | 2024 Schedule | 2024 Statistics
 
Bump. Set. Spike.
-The Duquesne University volleyball team wraps up its home portion of its schedule, when it hosts VCU on Friday, Nov. 8 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 9 at 4:00 p.m. inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. During Saturday's match, the Dukes will celebrate senior day when they honor three players and a student manager.

- Duquesne opened its four-match homestand last weekend, dropping a pair to Loyola Chicago. The Ramblers captured back-to-back 3-0 sweeps over the Dukes.

- On Friday, junior Ariel Helm captured her 300^th career block, becoming just the seventh player in Duquesne history to reach 300 rejections for a career. Freshman Emersen Schrom finished as the only Dukes with double figure kills, carding 13 kills, nine digs, and an ace.

- Graduate student Grace Kristofic, Carsyn Henschen, and Avery Hobson all tallied four successful swings while Kristofic totaled 20 assists, seven digs, and a pair of blocks. Junior Madison Grimm also collected seven digs while passing out three helpers on Friday.

- During Saturday's match, Helm stamped himself into the record book again, becoming the all-time single-season blocks leader. Sophomore Avery Hobson paced Duquesne with eight successful swings and seven digs while junior Carsyn Henschen and Schrom each tallied seven kills.

- Schrom carded a team-best nine digs and three aces while graduate student Grace Kristofic posted 25 assists, six digs, and a pair of blocks on Saturday.

- The Dukes conclude its regular season when it travels to George Mason on Friday, Nov. 15 at 6:00 p.m. before wrapping up the series on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 3:00 p.m.

Scouting The Rams – VCU comes into the weekend on the second longest winning streak in the Atlantic 10, being victorious in 10 straight matches. The Rams currently sit second in the league with a 14-8 overall record while producing a 12-2 mark in conference action. They're led by Julia Rienks, who ranks fourth in the league in points per set (4.14). She currently sits fifth in the league kills per set (3.44) while being tabbed seventh in total kills (265). Anja Kujundzic paces the Rams with 4.10 digs per set which ranks fourth while sitting sixth in total digs (316). It'll be the 27^th and 28^th meeting between the two squads this weekend as VCU holds a 19-7 advantage in the all-time series.

Senior Salute – Prior to its match against the Rams, Duquesne will honor four individuals with a pregame ceremony. Madison Floyd, Elizabeth Drelling, Grace Kristofic, and student manager Tori Fowler will be celebrated for their contributions to the program. Fowler has been a manager for the Dukes from 2021-24 while earning her degree in physical therapy.

Floyd has spent four seasons with the Dukes and has appeared in 100 sets while playing in 30 matches. She's registered over 201.5 points in her career while totaling 130 kills, 95 total blocks, and 12 service aces while battling injuries the past two seasons. In 21 sets played this season, the New Jersey native produced 40 kills, a .493 swing percentage, 26 blocks, and 1.24 blocks per set. Floyd posted a career-high 15 kills against Robert Morris earlier this season while hitting .700 for the match. She also collected 3.5 blocks while totaling a pair of digs in the win.

Drelling joined the Dukes this season after spending the last four years at George Washington. She's totaled over 657.5 points in her career while tallying 565 kills, 381 digs, and 77 total rejections. At Duquesne, Drelling has posted career-bests in total points (306.5), kills (269), kills per set (2.89), digs (146), and total blocks (42). Drelling currently ranks eighth in the league in kills per set while her total kills currently sit seventh. The graduate student sits in the top 10 of the conference in points this season while her 3.30 points per set ranks ninth. The California native has posted 16 matches with double figure kills while producing a pair of double-doubles.

Kristofic donned the red and blue this season after coming to the Bluff from George Mason, where she spent four seasons with the Patriots. She just surpassed 1,000 career assists last match against Loyola Chicago while totaling 438 career digs and 29 service aces. At Duquesne, Kristofic has registered 433 helpers, 161 digs, and 12 service aces, all which are career-bests. The Pennsylvania native has carded 24 matches with double figure assists and is currently on a streak of 12 straight matches with 10+ helpers. She has tallied a pair of double-doubles this season while posting 10 20+ assists performances for the Dukes.

Record Setter – Junior middle blocker Ariel Helm secured a pair of milestones last weekend against Loyola Chicago. With a block in the third set, Helm became the all-time single season blocks leader. Helm surpassed Monica Tinsley for the most rejections in a single season, a record that has been held for 19 years (2005). The Indiana native now has 128.0 total blocks on the season which ranks seventh in the country. The junior eclipsed 300 career blocks on Friday against the Ramblers after registering a solo block in the opening set to give the Dukes a 5-3 advantage. Helm currently ranks seventh in school history with 305.0 career blocks while her 57 career solo blocks, rank 10th in program history. She enters this weekend against VCU with 101 block assists, which ranks second in school history.

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