Box Score Saint Louis, Mo. – The Duquesne volleyball team traveled to Saint Louis, Mo., on Friday night for its first road Atlantic 10 match of the season, falling 3-1 to the Billikens inside Chaifetz Pavilion. With the loss, the Dukes move to 11-3 (.786) overall and 2-1 in Atlantic 10 play.

EARLY ADVANTAGE
Duquesne took an early 1-0 lead in the match after producing 11 kills, three blocks and a pair of aces in the opening set. The Dukes jumped out to a 9-4 advantage behind three straight kills from freshmen Simone Searles, Londyn Stone and Maddie Bush before Searles capped the run with another successful attack. Saint Louis trimmed the deficit to 12-10 later in the set, but a pair of kills from Searles pushed Duquesne's lead back to 15-12 heading into the media timeout. The Dukes carried that momentum out of the break, rattling off five straight points to extend their advantage to 20-12. A pair of service aces from senior Delaney McIntosh and two kills from classmate Jordan Robertson paced the run. The two teams traded the next eight points before Stone closed out the set with a kill, giving the Dukes a 25-16 victory in the opening frame.

BATTLING TO THE BRINK
The Billikens evened the match by taking the second set, 25-20. The third frame featured six ties and three lead changes, with the two teams trading the opening 18 points before reaching an 11-11 deadlock. Junior Emersen Schrom gave the Dukes a one-point advantage with a kill, but the teams continued to exchange points before Saint Louis took a 15-14 lead into the media timeout. The back-and-forth continued following the break, with Searles cutting the deficit to 19-18 with a successful attack. The Billikens responded with a 3-1 run to extend their lead to 21-18 before a Saint Louis miscue halted the run. Senior Chloe Wilmot brought the Dukes within two at 23-21 with a successful swing, but a kill from Anna Alexander followed by a Duquesne miscue gave the Billikens the 25-21 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.

BY THE NUMBERS
A pair of Dukes finished in double figures offensively, led by Simone Searles and Emersen Schrom. Searles paced Duquesne with 19 kills and nine digs while hitting .351, adding two blocks on the night. Schrom recorded 12 kills, six digs and an ace, while Londyn Stone contributed six kills and eight digs. Chloe Wilmot directed the Duquesne offense with 37 assists while adding nine digs, three kills and two blocks. Delaney McIntosh led the Dukes with 19 digs.

UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes its series with Saint Louis on Saturday, Oct. 3, with first serve set for 2:00 p.m.