Pittsburgh, Pa. – Opening up Atlantic 10 play on Friday night, the Duquesne University volleyball team captured a 3-1 victory over George Washington inside the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, the Dukes jumped to 10-3 overall and 1-0 in A-10 action.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Behind 13 kills and just under a .300 hitting percentage, Duquesne took an early 1-0 lead in the match, taking the opening stanza, 25-22. The Dukes jumped out to a 9-5 advantage, thanks to four kills from four different Dukes. The Revolutionaries would trim the deficit (10-8) before Duquesne carded three consecutive points to take a 13-8 lead and forced a George Washington timeout. Junior Ariel Helm and graduate student Elizabeth Drelling each registered a kill in the run. The Revolutionaries didn't shy away as they netted six of the next eight points to cut the deficit to two, before tying the set at 18-all. Taking advantage of a pair of attacking errors and tallying successful swings from Drelling and Helm, the Dukes held a 23-21 advantage and forced another George Washington timeout. Sophomore Avery Hobson gave Duquesne set point before classmate Jordan Robertson found the floor successfully to secure the set.

BREAKING THE TIE
After dropping set two, the Dukes would bounce back in the third stanza, registering 15 kills and three blocks. It was a back-and-forth affair as there were 13 ties and five lead changes. The two teams traded points as it was knotted at 15-all midway through the set. Back-to-back kills from Robertson and Hobson would give Duquesne a two-point advantage before George Washington took the lead (19-18) with a 4-1 stint. The Dukes would regain the lead off three straight successful swings, two coming off the hand of Schrom and the one off the hand of junior Carsyn Henschen. Out of a George Washington timeout, the Revolutionaries knotted the score at 22-all before a point from Helm and a block from Robertson and Schrom gave Duquesne set point. Drelling would end the set with a successful swing as the Dukes took set three, 25-23.

1-0
Set four mirrored the third stanza as the two teams registered seven ties and five lead changes. George Washington held a 6-2 advantage early in the set but the Dukes strung together a 6-2 spurt to tie the score at 8-all. Drelling paced the stint with a pair of kills while Robertson, Hobson, and Henschen all collected blocks. After a point from the Revolutionaries, Duquesne bolstered seven of the next nine points to grab a 15-11 lead. Henschen tallied a pair of successful swings while Helm and Schrom found the floor successfully. Later in the set, George Washington would take a 17-16 advantage, thanks to a 6-1 run. The two squads would continue to trade points until a kill from Hobson tied the score at 23-all. After an attacking error gave the Dukes match point, Hobson registered her second ace of the match to give Duquesne a 25-23 win.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Duquesne was paced by Elizabeth Drelling, who finished with 11 kills, seven digs, and one ace. With her 11 kills, Drelling has now reached double-figures in seven consecutive contests. Carsyn Henschen and Avery Hobson each tallied nine successful swings while Hobon collected nine digs and 1.5 blocks. Ariel Helm produced eight kills, three digs, and 1.5 rejections while junior Madison Grimm carded a team-high 16 digs. Graduate student Grace Kristofic recorded a team-leading 20 assists with eight digs while sophomore Chloe Wilmot collected 16 assists and seven digs in the win.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return to action on Saturday, Sept. 28, when it wraps up its doubleheader with George Washington at 2:00 p.m. inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.