Davidson, N.C. – The Dukes battled back to force a fifth set before falling in a 3-2 decision at Davidson on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic 10 action. With the loss, the Duquesne volleyball team drops to 16-9 (.640) overall and 7-7 (.500) in conference play.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne claimed a 25-18 victory in the fourth set to force a decisive fifth frame. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 6-3 lead before junior
Emersen Schrom halted the run with a kill. Davidson answered with back-to-back kills, but Schrom and freshman
Maddie Bush responded with kills of their own. Following a Wildcats point, a block from Bush and freshman
Simone Searles, combined with a Davidson error, pulled the Dukes within one at 9-8. The Wildcats later stretched their advantage to 12-8 before kills from Searles and classmate
Londyn Stone cut the deficit to two. Davidson, however, closed out the match with three consecutive points to secure a 15-12 fifth-set victory.
SHIFTING MOMENTUM
After dropping the opening set, the Dukes responded in the second despite trailing 8-4 early. Duquesne erupted for a 10-2 run to take a 14-10 lead, fueled by three kills from Schrom and two apiece from seniors
Kylie Griffin and
Jordan Robertson. Robertson also teamed up with classmate
Chloe Wilmot and Griffin for blocks during the stretch. Davidson later used a 4-2 run to pull within 16-14, but the Dukes answered with a 4-2 spurt of their own to maintain a 20-16 advantage. The Wildcats continued to battle, scoring five straight points to take a 21-20 lead. Duquesne responded with two kills from Stone, a block by Wilmot and Robertson, and a kill from Searles to earn set point. After Davidson recorded two more points, Schrom delivered the decisive kill to secure a 25-23 victory for the Dukes. Duquesne finished the set with 18 kills and five blocks to even the match.
HAT TRICK OF 1,000
Senior setter
Chloe Wilmot entered the weekend 72 assists shy of reaching 1,000 for the season and delivered in a big way. On Saturday, she recorded her seventh double-double of the year with 45 assists and 14 digs while adding a service ace. She followed up with another strong performance on Sunday, posting 47 assists and 18 digs for her eighth double-double of the season while contributing two kills and 1.5 blocks. The Virginia native now has 1,020 assists on the season and ranks fourth all-time in program history with 3,944 career assists. Wilmot is closing in on another milestone as she looks to become just the fourth player in Duquesne history to surpass 4,000 career assists. She has also made her mark from the service line, ranking third all-time in program history with 139 career aces.
BY THE NUMBERS
Junior
Emersen Schrom led the way with her 11th double-double of the season, recording 18 kills and 16 digs.
Simone Searles added 13 kills, nine digs and two blocks, while
Londyn Stone finished with nine kills and 13 digs.
Maddie Bush tallied seven kills and 3.5 blocks, while senior
Delaney McIntosh collected 14 digs and sophomore
Alexa Flowers added 12 digs.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns home for its final homestand of the season, welcoming George Washington to the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7. The Dukes will celebrate Senior Day on Friday before closing out the weekend against the Revolutionaries on Saturday.
