Pittsburgh, Pa. – Behind a career milestone from senior middle blocker Ariel Helm, the Dukes rolled to a straight-set victory over Rhode Island on Saturday afternoon inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the sweep, the Duquesne volleyball team improved to 13-10 overall (.565) and 5-7 (.417) in Atlantic 10 play.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
An early surge by the Dukes in the opening set powered them to a 25-17 victory and a 1-0 lead in the match. Duquesne led 4-2 before a 13-6 run stretched the advantage to 17-8. Senior Carsyn Henschen fueled the momentum with four kills during the spurt, while classmate Ariel Helm added three blocks. Rhode Island responded with a 9-5 run to cut the deficit to 22-17, but the Dukes closed the frame with three straight points. Two Rhody attacking errors set up set point, and senior Hanna Wilson sealed it with a service ace. Duquesne hit .257 in the set while limiting the Rams to just .048.

MOMENTUM ROLLING
Tied at 10-10, the Dukes seized control of the second set with a 7-2 run to build a 17-12 lead. A Rhode Island error sparked the surge, and after a Rams point, Duquesne rattled off five straight kills. Henschen opened the streak with a successful swing, followed by kills from Helm, Henschen, and Schrom. Out of the media timeout, Helm added another kill before a point from Chloe Abuto briefly halted the momentum. Helm quickly reignited the Dukes with her third kill of the run to cap the stretch. After a Rhode Island point, Duquesne extended its lead to 20-13 behind a Schrom kill, a Rams error, and a block from Wilmot and Helm. The Rams responded with five straight points to close the gap to 20-18, but freshman Karli Jordan stopped the rally with a kill, followed by a solo block from junior Jordan Robertson. The Dukes held firm down the stretch, as Henschen delivered a late kill before Robertson and Schrom teamed up for a block to secure the set, 25-20.

CLEAN SHEET SATURDAY
For the second time in the match, Duquesne held Rhode Island to under .100 hitting percentage en rout to its straight-set sweep. Leading 8-6 early in the set, the Dukes rattled off a 5-1 spurt to hold a 13-7 advantage. Jordan and Henschen each tallied kills in the run while Wilmot collected a pair of service aces. The two squads would trade the next 10 points before Rhody scored four of the next six points to cut the deficit to 20-16. Duquesne pushed its lead back to six after an attacking error by the Rams and a successful swing from Henschen. Rhode Island trimmed the deficit to 23-18 before Scchrom sealed the match with consecutive kills.

BLOCK QUEEN
Senior middle blocker Ariel Helm has been a dominant presence at the net throughout her Duquesne career, and she etched her name in the record book once again on Saturday. Entering the match just one block shy of 400 for her career, Helm wasted no time reaching the milestone. With the Dukes leading 5-2 in the opening set, she notched career block No. 400 on an attack from Erika Bracey. Helm finished the day with seven kills, a team-leading six blocks, and two digs. She became just the third player in program history to surpass 400 career blocks, bringing her total to 405. The Indiana native now sits just seven blocks shy of second place on Duquesne's all-time list, while also ranking second in block assists (325) and tied for seventh in solo blocks (80). This season, Helm has recorded five or more blocks in six matches and has led the Dukes in blocks 11 times.

QUOTABLE
"What a great way to start our six-match home stand," head coach Steve Opperman said. "Our team did a great job of playing together and getting better as the weekend progressed. I thought we did a good job of staying focused all weekend. We need to ride this into next week."

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Duquesne showcased a balanced offensive attack with a pair of players recording double-figure kills, led by Carsyn Henschen and Emersen Schrom, who each tallied 12. Schrom notched her 10th double-double of the season, adding 11 digs and two service aces, while Henschen posted an impressive .524 hitting percentage. Karli Jordan contributed six kills and four digs, and Chloe Wilmot steered the offense with 35 assists, nine digs, three blocks, and two aces. Defensively, Madison Grimm and Maggie Colenbrander anchored the back row with eight and seven digs, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Dukes continue its six-match homestand when it welcomes Saint Louis on Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1 inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.