Oxford, Ohio – The Duquesne volleyball team opened play at the Best Western Invitational on Friday by splitting a pair of matches. The Dukes started strong with a 3-1 victory over Southern Indiana before suffering its first setback of the season with a 3-1 loss to Middle Tennessee in the nightcap. With the split, Duquesne moved to 7-1 (.875) on the year.

MATCH 1 vs. SOUTHERN INDIANA
Despite seven ties and a late rally by Southern Indiana, Duquesne struck first, taking a 1-0 match lead with a 25-23 win in set one. The Dukes built a 13-9 advantage midway through the frame before the Screaming Eagles answered with three straight points to pull within one. Duquesne quickly countered with a 4-0 run, highlighted by a block from senior Carsyn Henschen and junior Jordan Robertson, a Henschen kill, and a rejection from Robertson and sophomore Emersen Schrom to make it 17-12.  Southern Indiana battled back with an 8-3 surge to even the score at 20, then tied it again at 21-all. The Dukes responded once more, closing strong by scoring four of the final six points. Freshman Karli Jordan sparked the push with back-to-back kills, Henschen added a swing for a point, and after a USI kill, Schrom sealed the set for Duquesne.

SEESAW SET
Southern Indiana evened the match with a 25-20 win in set two, powered by 16 kills and an impressive .424 hitting percentage. The third set turned into a thriller, featuring 19 ties and 12 lead changes. Deadlocked at 10-10, the teams continued to trade points until the score reached 20-all. After a Screaming Eagles point, Schrom answered with a kill, and senior Ariel Helm followed with a solo block to give Duquesne a 22-21 edge. Southern Indiana responded by taking three of the next four points to earn set point, but the Dukes roared back with three straight. Schrom delivered all three, two kills and a clutch service ace, to seal the 26-24 victory.

VICTORY COMPLETE
Duquesne carried its momentum into the final set, capitalizing on Southern Indiana's struggles at the net to close out a 25-19 victory and secure a 3-1 match win. The Dukes built a 9-7 lead early before using a 6-2 surge to extend the margin to 15-9. Schrom and Jordan each recorded two kills during the run, while junior Chloe Wilmot capped it with a service ace. The Screaming Eagles trimmed the deficit to three, but Duquesne answered with a 5-1 spurt to push the lead to 21-14, highlighted by two kills from Helm and another successful swing from Henschen. USI pulled within 22-18, but a Schrom kill and a block from Robertson and Henschen sealed the set and the match for the Dukes.

INISIDE THE STAT SHEET
For the second time this season, the Dukes featured four players with double-figure digs and three players with double-digit kills. Emersen Schrom led the team with her fourth double-double of the season, recording 21 kills and a career-high 20 digs. She added three assists, two aces, and finished with a .283 hitting percentage. Karli Jordan posted a season-high 14 kills, while Carsyn Henschen contributed 12 kills with a .303 hitting percentage and tied her career-high with five total blocks. Seniors Maggie Colenbrander and Hanna Wilson each tallied 11 digs, and junior Chloe Wilmot notched her fourth double-double of the season with 55 assists and 10 digs, adding three kills. Wilmot recorded her second consecutive 50+ assist performance, falling just one shy of her career-high. Ariel Helm and Jordan Robertson each added nine kills and combined for eight total blocks.

MATCH 2 vs. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Powered by an efficient .333 hitting percentage and 18 kills, Duquesne took the opening set from Middle Tennessee with a 25-23 victory. The Dukes built a 12-10 lead early before a 6-1 run stretched the margin to 18-11. Henschen sparked the surge with a kill, followed by a solo block from Helm and a point from Schrom. After a brief Dukes miscue, Schrom delivered back-to-back kills, and Helm capped the run with a successful swing. Duquesne later held a 21-15 advantage, but the Blue Raiders stormed back with a 7-2 burst to close within 23-21. Schrom halted the rally with a kill to bring up set point, then sealed the frame two plays later with another decisive swing.

CONSISTENT SWINGING
Middle Tennessee responded by taking sets two and three, hitting better than .340 in both frames. The Blue Raiders edged out a 25-23 win in the second set before securing a 25-22 victory in the third. In set two, they tallied 16 kills with just two errors, then followed with 16 kills on four errors in the third. Duquesne held a 15-12 lead in the third after a kill from junior Kylie Griffin and later stretched the margin to 19-15, fueled by two Helm kills and a point from Schrom. Coming out of a timeout, Middle Tennessee countered with an 8-2 run to grab its largest lead of the match at 23-20. An attacking error and a Griffin kill pulled the Dukes within one, but the Blue Raiders closed with back-to-back points to seal the set.

NOTES
The fourth set featured 11 ties and seven lead changes as Middle Tennessee used a late really capture the set, 25-22 and the match 3-1. The Dukes held a 19-17 advantage late in the set before five straight points from the Blue Raiders gave them a 22-19 advantage. Schrom collected back-to-back kills to trim the deficit to one before three Duke miscues gave Middle Tennessee the set.

INISIDE THE BOX SCORE
Emersen Schrom was the lone Duke to reach double figures in kills, recording her fifth double-double of the season with 29 kills and 15 digs while hitting at a .297 clip. Her 29 kills set a new program record for a four-set match, surpassing the previous mark of 27 set by Shelia Lopez at Xavier in November 1997. Chloe Wilmot continued her strong play with her third straight 50+ assist performance, finishing with 53 helpers, nine digs, a career-high six kills, and two aces. Freshman Alexa Flowers anchored the defense with a season-best 16 digs, while senior Madison Grimm added 15 digs and three assists. Ariel Helm chipped in nine kills with a .353 hitting percentage, while Carsyn Henschen and Kylie Griffin contributed eight and seven kills, respectively.

QUOTABLE
"From an attacking standpoint, we did some really nice things putting the ball away," head coach Steve Opperman said. "Both matches we had to battle, and the team really dug deep. After coming off the first match win, we knew we had to keep grinding. As we played MTSU, we were playing well, but lost momentum at the end of the sets. The team really showed great determination and resilience in both matches."

UP NEXT
Duquesne will close out the Best Western Invitational against host Miami (OH) on Saturday, Sept. 13, at 3 p.m.