Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne volleyball team closed out its regular-season homestand in impressive fashion Saturday afternoon, sweeping George Washington in straight sets inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse during Atlantic 10 action. With the victory, the Dukes improve to 18-9 (.667) overall and 9-7 (.562) in conference play while finishing the season with a 12-2 (.857) record at home. The 12 home victories mark Duquesne's most since 2012, when it posted a 13-1 mark on the Bluff.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Neither team found much offensive rhythm early in the opening set, as the score remained tied at 7-7. The Dukes gained an 11-8 advantage behind a kill from junior
Emersen Schrom, a service ace from senior
Chloe Wilmot and a pair of George Washington miscues. The Revolutionaries responded with five consecutive points to take a 13-11 lead before extending their advantage to 17-14. Duquesne answered with four straight points, including a pair of kills from senior
Kylie Griffin, to regain momentum. The Dukes continued to build their lead, using a 4-2 run to move ahead 22-19. Freshman
Simone Searles and senior
Jordan Robertson each recorded kills, while freshman
Londyn Stone added a pair of service aces during the stretch. Abby Makrworth brought George Washington within two, but Schrom answered with a kill before a Revolutionaries miscue and a block from Schrom and freshman
Maddie Bush secured a 25-20 opening-set victory for Duquesne.
TURNING THE TIDE
Trailing 21-19 late in the second set, Duquesne rallied to even the score at 21-all following a George Washington attacking error and a service ace from Wilmot. Riley Samuel answered with a kill for the Revolutionaries before a Dukes miscue gave George Washington a 23-21 advantage. The Revolutionaries later reached set point at 24-22, but Duquesne responded with four consecutive points to claim a 26-24 victory and take a 2-0 lead in the match. A George Washington attacking error sparked the run before a block from Searles and Robertson evened the score. Senior
Delaney McIntosh followed with a service ace to give the Dukes set point before Searles sealed the comeback with a successful attack. Duquesne hit .238 as a team in the second set, recording 16 kills and a pair of service aces. Griffin and Schrom led the offensive effort with five kills apiece, while Searles added four kills to help fuel the Dukes' comeback.
A CLEAN SHEET
Duquesne saved its best performance for the third set, posting an impressive .600 hitting percentage with 16 kills and three blocks. The Dukes also limited George Washington to a .103 hitting percentage in the final frame, holding the Revolutionaries to 10 kills and seven attacking errors. Riley Samuel brought the Dukes' lead to 9-8 early in the set before Duquesne responded with a 9-3 run to build an 18-11 advantage. Searles recorded three kills during the stretch, while Schrom and Griffin each added successful attacks. Wilmot contributed a service ace, and Bush teamed up with Searles for a block. Following a George Washington timeout, Duquesne maintained its momentum, closing out the match with a 7-3 run to secure a 25-14 victory and complete the sweep. Four different Dukes recorded a kill during the closing stretch, led by Schrom with three.
BY THE NUMBERS
Duquesne featured three players with double-digit kills, led by
Simone Searles, who recorded her team-leading 12th double-double of the season with 13 kills and 16 digs while adding a pair of blocks.
Emersen Schrom narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and eight digs while hitting an impressive .385. The performances marked the 21st double-digit kill outing of the season for Searles and the 24th for Schrom.
Kylie Griffin provided a spark off the bench, matching her career high with 11 kills while posting a team-best .579 hitting percentage. Griffin was especially effective in the second set, recording five kills while hitting .417 before adding four kills on a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage in the third frame.
Chloe Wilmot orchestrated the offense with 40 assists, eight digs and a team-high three service aces, while
Delaney McIntosh contributed 13 digs and four assists.
UP NEXT
Duquesne wraps up its regular season when it travels to Fairfax, Va., to take on George Mason on Friday, Nov. 13, at 6:00 p.m. before concluding the series on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 3:00 p.m.
