Pittsburgh, Pa. – Fueled by four Dukes with double-figure kills and a career milestone from junior setter Chloe Wilmot, the Duquesne volleyball team powered to a 3-1 victory over Rhode Island on Friday night at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, the Dukes improved to 12-10 (.545) overall and 4-7 (.364) in league action.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
Rhode Island claimed a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-20 win in the opening set, but Duquesne quickly responded, hitting an impressive .533 with 17 kills to even the score. The Rams led 7-6 early in the second frame before the Dukes surged ahead with four straight points for a 10-7 advantage, fueled by two kills from freshman Karli Jordan. Later in the set, after Rhode Island trimmed the margin to one following a Duquesne error, the Dukes answered with a 5-1 run to extend their lead to 16-11. Senior Carsyn Henschen and sophomore Emersen Schrom delivered consecutive kills, followed by a Schrom and sophomore Mirabella Iriarte block. Henschen added another kill, and a Rams miscue capped the run. Rhode Island closed the gap to 22-17, but Henschen tallied back-to-back kills, and a final Rams error sealed the set for the Dukes.

BUILT ON DEFENSE
Duquesne carried its momentum into the third set, dominating defensively and holding Rhode Island to a negative hitting percentage (-.269) with just four kills in a decisive 25-11 victory. The Rams opened with a 7-4 edge before the Dukes responded with a 9-1 run to take a 13-8 lead. Jordan, senior Ariel Helm, and junior Chloe Wilmot each tallied kills during the surge, while Helm and junior Jordan Robertson added solo blocks. After consecutive points from the Rams, Duquesne erupted for 11 straight points, stretching its lead to 24-10. Henschen paced the run with three kills, while Schrom and Robertson also found the floor. Robertson and Jordan teamed up for a pair of blocks, and Wilmot capped the burst with a service ace. Rhode Island stopped the streak with a block, but Jordan sealed the set and a 2-1 match lead with a kill to close out the frame.

BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN
The Dukes held a 13-8 advantage, thanks to four kills from Schrom and three successful swings from Helm to begin the fourth frame but the Rams responded with an 8-3 stint that would knot the score at 16-all. A Jordan kill and an error by Rhody would force a Rams timeout before kills from Henschen and Robertson forced another timeout as the Dukes held a 21-17 advantage. Out of the break, Rhode Island countered by scoring three of the next four points to cut the deficit to 22-20 before Henschen and a block from Helm and Wilmot gave Duquesne match point. After a pair of blocks from the Rams, Schrom sealed the match for the Dukes with a kill. Duquesne collected 19 kills in the set while holding Rhode Island to a .047 hitting percentage.

ALL ABOUT THE SET-UP
Junior setter Chloe Wilmot entered the match just 30 assists shy of 2,500 for her career and she made the milestone count. Leading 19-10 in the third set, Wilmot recorded her 2,500th career assist after a dig from Karli Jordan, setting up Carsyn Henschen for a kill off a Rhode Island defender. The Virginia native finished the night with her 12th double-double of the season, tallying 49 assists, 12 digs, two aces, and two blocks. It marked her ninth match this season with 40 or more assists and her second in the last four outings. Wilmot became just the eighth player in program history to surpass the 2,500-assist milestone and now sits at 2,519 for her career. She's also nearing another achievement, needing only 128 more assists to record 1,000 in a single season for the second time in her career. She currently stands at 872 helpers on the year.

QUOTABLE
"I'm proud of the way our team battled after we lost the opening set," head coach Steve Opperman said. "We regrouped and got things rolling. We had four players in double figure kills and that shows great balance.  Our serve/pass game picked up after the first set and made a difference in the match. We look to build on the momentum we had today."

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Four Dukes finished with double figure kills, led by Carsyn Henschen. She finished with 17 kills and a .297 swing percentage while Emersen Schrom tallied 13 kills, seven digs, one ace, and one block. Karli Jordan and Ariel Helm each collected 11 successful swings while both finished with four blocks. Helm is on the verge of becoming just the third player in program history to reach 400 blocks in a career as she sits one shy heading into Saturday. Seniors Hanna Wilson and Madison Grimm each finished with 16 digs while Grimm carded four assists.

UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes its double-header with Rhode Island on Saturday, Oct. 25 inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse with the opening serve set for 1:00 p.m.