Saint Louis, Mo. – After falling behind 2-1 in the match, the Dukes battled back to earn a thrilling 3-2 victory over Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon inside Chaifetz Pavilion. With the win, Duquesne improves to 12-3 (.800) overall and 3-1 (.750) in Atlantic 10 play.
NO QUIT IN FIVE
Battling their way back to force a fifth set, the Dukes trailed 7-4 early before rattling off three straight points to even the score at 7-7. Freshman
Londyn Stone registered back-to-back kills before junior
Emersen Schrom capped the run with a successful swing. Later in the stanza, the Billikens took a 12-11 lead before Duquesne responded with five consecutive points to secure the match. A Saint Louis miscue started the run, followed by a rejection from seniors
Chloe Wilmot and
Jordan Robertson. Another Billiken error extended the run before Schrom delivered the final blow, sealing the 15-12 fifth-set victory for the Dukes.
SETTING THE TONE
Duquesne took an early advantage, holding a 7-6 lead before pushing its edge to 15-10 with a 6-4 run. Stone paced the charge with a pair of kills, while Robertson added a kill and a block and freshman
Simone Searles chipped in a block during the stretch. The two squads then traded the next 10 points, with Schrom tallying a pair of kills before the Dukes closed the set on a 5-3 run to secure the opening stanza, 25-18. Freshmen
Maddie Bush and Searles opened the run with a block, while Schrom added two kills and a pair of aces to pace the charge.
ANSWERING THE CALL
Saint Louis went on to take a 2-1 lead in the match after securing a 27-25 victory in the second set and a 25-17 win in the third before the Dukes responded in the fourth frame. Duquesne jumped out to an early 8-5 lead before erupting for a 13-3 run to build a commanding 21-9 cushion. Four different Dukes registered kills during the stretch, led by Searles with three kills and a block, while Robertson added two blocks and an ace. The Billikens refused to go quietly, responding with a 10-1 run to cut the deficit to 22-19. Schrom stemmed the momentum with a kill, and after a Saint Louis kill and a Billiken miscue, Duquesne capitalized on another Saint Louis error before senior
Chloe Wilmot and junior
Mirabella Iriarte teamed up for a block to seal the 25-21 victory and force a decisive fifth set.
QUOTABLE
"We felt our team did a nice job of battling all day long," head coach
Steve Opperman said. "We were disappointed with our performance last night, but happy we rebounded and stayed aggressive to win the match. We had production from everyone on the court today."
TRIPLE THREAT
Duquesne featured a trio of players with double-figure kills, led by
Emersen Schrom. The junior recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 15 digs while tying her season high with six aces.
Londyn Stone posted her third double-double of the season, finishing with 17 kills and 16 digs while adding a block.
Simone Searles rounded out the trio with 16 kills to go along with eight digs and two total blocks. The trio accounted for 51 of Duquesne's 62 kills on the evening while combining for 39 digs.
BY THE NUMBERS
Chloe Wilmot recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with 54 assists and 14 digs while adding three blocks in the victory. Senior
Delaney McIntosh tied for the team lead with 16 digs and chipped in four assists, while
Jordan Robertson tallied seven kills and a team-high four blocks.
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up its road trip on Tuesday, Oct. 6, when it travels to Dayton for a 5:00 p.m. match against the Flyers.
