MATCHES 21 & 22
VCU (9-8, 7-2) vs. Duquesne (13-7, 4-5)
Friday, October 23 | 6:00 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+)

VCU (9-8, 7-2) vs. Duquesne (13-7, 4-5)
Saturday, October 24 | 2:00 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Live Stats

2026 Roster | 2026 Schedule | 2026 Statistics | DUQ Game Notes
 
Bump. Set. Spike.
- The Duquesne volleyball team opens a three-match homestand this weekend, welcoming VCU to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a pair of Atlantic 10 contests on Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 25.

- The Dukes split a pair of road matches at Rhode Island last weekend, falling in a five-set battle on Friday before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory on Saturday to snap a four-match losing streak.

- On Friday, after dropping the opening two sets, Duquesne battled back to even the match at 2-2 and force a decisive fifth frame. The Dukes jumped out to an early 4-1 lead behind kills from three different players before the Rams responded with three consecutive points to knot the score at 4-4. A kill by freshman Londyn Stone evened the set at 7-7, but Rhode Island answered with seven straight points to build a 14-7 advantage. Grace Keaney sealed the victory for the Rams with a kill. Rhode Island hit .333 in the deciding set while recording two aces and a pair of blocks.

- A trio of Dukes finished in double figures in kills, led by junior Emersen Schrom, who recorded a team-high 16 kills to go along with five digs, five service aces and 1.5 blocks. Freshman Simone Searles tallied her seventh double-double of the season, leading the team with 22 digs while adding 15 kills, one block and one ace.

- Freshman Londyn Stone rounded out the trio with her fifth double-double of the year, recording 14 kills and 10 digs while notching a season-high four service aces. Senior Chloe Wilmot paced the offense with her fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 41 assists and 11 digs while adding three aces. Senior Jordan Robertson anchored the net defensively, leading the Dukes with six total blocks.

- Against the Rams on Saturday, Rhode Island refused to go quietly, winning the third and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth set. Duquesne responded with a strong performance in the final frame, posting a .524 hitting percentage with 12 kills. The two teams traded the opening 10 points before the Rams grabbed an early 7-5 advantage. Junior Emersen Schrom answered with back-to-back kills to even the score before giving the Dukes an 11-10 lead later in the set.

- Cara Richter knotted the score at 11-11, but Duquesne closed out the match with four consecutive points to secure a 15-11 victory. Freshman Londyn Stone opened the decisive stretch with a kill, followed by a block from seniors Jordan Robertson and Chloe Wilmot. Coming out of a Rhode Island timeout, Schrom delivered another kill before a Rams attacking error sealed the win for the Dukes.

- Duquesne delivered a dominant performance in the opening set, posting an impressive .579 hitting percentage with 11 kills and six blocks in a commanding 25-6 victory. The Dukes jumped out to a 13-2 lead behind a pair of kills each from senior Jordan Robertson and junior Emersen Schrom, who also teamed up for a block alongside Robertson and freshman Simone Searles.

- Senior Chloe Wilmot extended the advantage to 15-4 at the media timeout before Duquesne closed the set on a 10-2 run, including eight consecutive points. Searles fueled the late surge with three kills, while Robertson and Searles combined for two blocks and Robertson teamed up with freshman Londyn Stone for another rejection to seal the dominant opening-set win.

Scouting The Rams – Riding a five-match winning streak, VCU enters the weekend tied for second in the Atlantic 10 standings with a 7-2 conference record and a 9-8 overall mark. The Rams are coming off a pair of victories at George Mason, earning a 3-1 win on Friday before securing a 3-2 victory on Saturday. Nina Boledovicova and Letizia Galli lead the VCU attack, with Boledovicova averaging 2.63 kills per set (176 total) and Galli contributing 2.24 kills per frame (150 total). Cansin Sendir directs the offense, ranking fourth in the Atlantic 10 with 8.75 assists per set while her 586 total assists rank seventh in the conference. Defensively, Galli ranks second in the league with 1.18 blocks per set, while her 79 total blocks are fourth-most in the conference. VCU also features three players with more than 100 digs this season, led by Kayla Foley with 2.56 digs per set and 168 total. Sendir ranks second on the team with 2.33 digs per set and 156 on the season.

Rhode Island Remains – On Friday, Duquesne dropped the first two sets, 25-22 and 26-24, before responding with a dominant 25-15 win in the third. The Dukes jumped out to an 8-3 lead behind three kills from senior Jordan Robertson and two points from freshman Simone Searles. After Rhode Island cut the deficit to four, Duquesne closed the set on a strong run, with kills from Searles, junior Emersen Schrom and senior Chloe Wilmot, along with service aces from Schrom and freshman Londyn Stone. On Saturday, Duquesne used 19 kills and a .357 hitting percentage to claim a 25-20 second-set victory and build a 2-0 match lead. After falling behind 6-1, the Dukes rallied to tie the score at 11-11 before taking control with a 6-2 run following the media timeout. Schrom recorded multiple kills and two service aces down the stretch, while Searles added key kills, including the set-clinching point, to secure the win.

Making It A Habit - Behind a pair of double-doubles, freshman Simone Searles earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors for the fifth time this season. Searles averaged 3.65 points, 3.10 kills and 3.90 digs per set while hitting .266, totaling 31 kills, 39 digs and 3.5 blocks across two matches. She opened the weekend with her seventh double-double of the season, recording a season-high 22 digs and 15 kills while adding a block and a service ace. Searles followed with her eighth double-double on Saturday, tallying 16 kills and 17 digs while hitting .325 in a 3-2 victory over Rhode Island. She also contributed 2.5 blocks and a service ace in the win. Searles continues to rank among the Atlantic 10's top attackers, sitting third in the conference and 25th nationally with 295 kills. She also ranks third in the league in points (337.0), points per set (4.32) and kills per set (3.78). With her fifth Rookie of the Week honor, Searles becomes just the third player in program history to earn the distinction five times in a single season.
 
Three's Company – Duquesne continues to receive consistent production from its trio of attackers, with all three recording 10 or more kills in eight matches this season, including five of the last six contests. Freshman Simone Searles has led the charge, averaging 3.59 kills per set while recording four double-doubles during that stretch. She has tallied at least 15 kills in all but one of those matches while adding eight total blocks. Junior Emersen Schrom follows closely, averaging 3.52 kills per set while recording 15 service aces over the last six matches, including a season-high six at Saint Louis. She has also posted two double-doubles and 7.5 blocks during that span. Freshman Londyn Stone rounds out the trio, averaging 2.81 kills and 2.22 digs per set while recording four double-doubles. She has registered double-digit kills in six consecutive matches and added eight service aces during that stretch. Over the last six matches, the trio has combined for 268 kills, 17 blocks and 10 double-doubles.

Rising Through The Ranks – The Dukes feature several players who continue to climb the program's all-time record book. Senior setter Chloe Wilmot continues to build on her stellar career in a Duquesne uniform, ranking fifth all-time with 3,731 career assists. She is looking to become just the fourth player in program history to surpass the 4,000-assist mark while pursuing her third career season with 1,000 assists. Wilmot currently leads the Dukes with 807 assists this season, ranking sixth nationally, while her 135 career service aces rank fourth all-time. Classmate Jordan Robertson continues to anchor the middle, ranking seventh in program history with 357 career blocks. Her 303 career block assists rank fourth all-time, just six shy of moving into third place. Junior Emersen Schrom has made her mark in her first three seasons on the Bluff, ranking ninth all-time with 1,127 career kills. After surpassing the 1,000-kill milestone in late September, Schrom continues to climb the service ace rankings, sitting just behind Wilmot with 133 career aces.

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