Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne volleyball team wrapped up non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at the Natale Sporting Goods Invitational, defeating Siena in straight sets inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, the Dukes improved to 9-2 (.818) overall, tying the best start to a season since 2016.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
In a set that featured nine ties and five lead changes, Duquesne used a late rally to claim an early 1-0 match lead with a 25-21 victory. Leading 16-15 in the opening stanza, Siena used a 4-1 run to take a 19-17 advantage. The teams then traded the next four points before junior
Emersen Schrom registered back-to-back kills to even the score at 21-21 and force a Saints timeout. Out of the break, the Dukes continued to build momentum as freshman
Maddie Bush recorded a kill before a Siena attacking error, followed by successful swings from classmate
Simone Searles and Schrom, gave Duquesne the 25-21 set victory. Searles and Schrom each tallied five kills in the opening frame, combining for six of the Dukes' final seven kills.
CASHING IN ON THE ATTACK
Duquesne jumped out to an early 12-7 advantage before taking a 15-11 lead into the media timeout. Out of the break, the two teams traded the next four points, with Schrom and senior
Jordan Robertson recording kills and freshman
Londyn Stone adding a service ace. Siena trimmed the deficit to 22-20 late in the second set with a 5-3 run, but a Saints attacking error and a kill from Schrom gave the Dukes set point. Siena capitalized on a Duquesne error to extend the frame, but Schrom once again found the floor to secure a 25-22 victory and a 2-0 match lead. Duquesne delivered a dominant performance in the third set, hitting .367 with 13 kills, three aces and two blocks en route to a 25-10 sweep. After taking an early 7-4 lead, the Dukes erupted for an 11-1 run to build an 18-5 cushion. Schrom and senior
Chloe Wilmot each recorded two kills during the stretch, while Robertson added an ace and a kill. Duquesne closed out the match with a 7-5 run to complete the sweep.
QUOTABLE
"Overall, I thought our team did a great job of discovering themselves this preseason," head coach
Steve Opperman said. "It was a good opportunity for us to grow and it showed throughout. We are looking forward to opening conference play and seeing where it leads us."
TOURNAMENT STANDOUTS
A pair of Dukes earned All-Tournament Team honors in
Simone Searles and
Jordan Robertson. Searles averaged 5.58 points, 5.00 kills and 3.17 digs per set while hitting an impressive .491 across the weekend. She opened the tournament with her second career kills-digs double-double, posting 16 kills and 10 digs while hitting a blistering .640 against UMES. Searles followed with 14 kills and nine digs against Siena while adding a pair of blocks. Robertson averaged 2.83 points and 2.33 kills per set while hitting .480 over the two matches. She opened the weekend with eight kills, three digs and two blocks while hitting .583 against UMES before recording six kills and a .385 hitting percentage in Duquesne's sweep of Siena.
BY THE NUMBERS
Joining Searles in double figures was
Emersen Schrom, who finished with 12 kills, four digs, two aces and two assists.
Londyn Stone added six kills, six digs and two aces, while
Chloe Wilmot dished out 34 assists to go with four kills, three digs and an ace. Sophomore
Alexa Flowers paced the Dukes defensively with a team-high 11 digs.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to action on Friday, Sept. 25 and Saturday, Sept. 26, opening Atlantic 10 play with a two-match home series against Fordham inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. Friday's match is set for 6:00 p.m., while Saturday's contest will begin at 2:00 p.m.
