MATCHES 12 & 13
Fordham (6-7, 0-0) vs. Duquesne (9-2, 0-0)
Saturday, September 25 | 6:00 p.m.
UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse | Pittsburgh, Pa.
Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN+)

Fordham (6-7, 0-0) vs. Duquesne (9-2, 0-0)
Saturday, September 26 | 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 Atlantic 10 play this weekend when it welcomes Fordham to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse for a two-match series, beginning Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. before wrapping up Saturday, Sept. 26 at 2 p.m.

- The Dukes closed out non-conference play last weekend at the Natale Sporting Goods Invitational, earning a pair of straight-set victories. Duquesne swept Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday night before collecting a 3-0 win over Siena on Saturday afternoon.

- Against the Hawks, the Dukes hit .412 for the match, marking their third-highest hitting percentage of the season. Duquesne also recorded 49 kills, its most in a three-set match this season. Freshman Simone Searles and junior Emersen Schrom once again led the offensive charge, with Searles recording her second kills-digs double-double of the season behind a team-high 16 kills and 10 digs.

-  She swung at an impressive .640 clip for the match. Schrom narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 11 kills and nine digs while adding a team-best four aces in the victory. The performance marked the sixth time this season both Searles and Schrom have recorded double-figure kills, with Duquesne posting a 5-1 record in those matches.

- Freshman Londyn Stone and senior Jordan Robertson each added eight kills, with Stone also contributing five digs and an ace. Senior Chloe Wilmot orchestrated the offense with 42 assists and two blocks, while sophomore Alexa Flowers added 13 assists. As a team, the Dukes hit .412 for the match, marking their third-highest hitting percentage of the season. Duquesne also recorded 49 kills, its most in a three-set match this season.

- Senior Jordan Robertson and Searls would earn All-Tournament Team honors after completing the sweep over the weekend. 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.

- Emersen Schrom 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.

- After battling the Rams, the Dukes will hit the road when it travels to Saint Louis, Mo. To battle Saint Louis on Friday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3.

Scouting The Rams – Located in the Bronx, N.Y., Fordham enters Pittsburgh with a 6-7 overall record after wrapping up non-conference play at the Georgia Southern Invitational. The Rams dropped three straight matches to close the non-conference slate, falling in straight sets to North Florida, Kennesaw State and Georgia Southern. Fordham is led by first-year head coach Brayn Weber, who previously served as an associate head coach at St. John's since 2021. Offensively, the Rams are paced by Johanna Franzen, who averages 3.51 points and just under 3.00 kills per set. Franzen has recorded double-figure kills in seven matches, including a six-match streak to open the season. Giada Lanuale orchestrates the Fordham offense with 7.40 assists per set while leading the team with 23 service aces. Defensively, Özge Özaslan leads the Rams with 3.89 digs per set, while Tatum Holderied has recorded 37.0 total blocks, averaging 1.03 per set. One of the longest-running series in Duquesne volleyball history, the Dukes and Rams will meet for the 53rd and 54th times this weekend, with Duquesne holding a 42-10 advantage in the all-time series. The Dukes swept last season's series in the Bronx, earning a 3-1 victory in the opening meeting before completing the sweep with a 3-0 win in the finale.

Making Waves – For the second time this season, freshman Simone Searles was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week after another dominant weekend. She averaged 5.58 points, 5.00 kills and 3.17 digs per set while hitting a blistering .491 across two matches. Searles opened the weekend with her second double-double of the season, recording 16 kills and 10 digs while hitting .640 in a 3-0 sweep of Maryland Eastern Shore. She followed with 14 kills and nine digs while hitting .357 in Saturday's straight-set victory over Siena. Through the opening month of the season, Searles has established herself among the Atlantic 10's top performers. She ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.347), third in points per set (4.29) and fourth in kills per set (3.66). The freshman has recorded double-figure kills in eight matches and led the Dukes in kills four times. She also ranks second on the team with two double-doubles while adding 26 blocks and 10 service aces.

Veteran Presence – Senior middle blocker Jordan Robertson earned Natale Sporting Goods Invitational All-Tournament Team honors after helping the Dukes to a perfect 2-0 weekend. Robertson averaged 2.83 points and 2.33 kills per set while hitting an impressive .480 across the two matches. She opened the weekend with eight kills, three digs and two blocks while hitting .583 against Maryland Eastern Shore before adding six kills and a .385 hitting percentage in Duquesne's sweep of Siena. Robertson etched her name into the Duquesne record book earlier this season, surpassing 300 career blocks in the opening match against Northern Kentucky. With the milestone, she became just the eighth player in program history to reach 300 total blocks. The Florida native currently ranks eighth in program history with 311 total rejections and seventh with 265 block assists. Robertson has continued to make an impact offensively, hitting .398 on the season while averaging 1.42 kills per set. She has also collected nine service aces and 24 total blocks through 11 matches.

400 Wins, One Program - Head coach Steve Opperman, in his 36th season overall and 29th on the Bluff, reached another career milestone earlier this season against Notre Dame, becoming one of 21 active Division I head coaches with at least 400 victories at their current institution. He is also one of just 16 active Division I head coaches to record 500 or more career victories while collecting at least 400 wins at their current program. Opperman surpassed the 500-win mark last season, becoming the second coach in Atlantic 10 history to reach the milestone. His 521 career victories currently rank 24th nationally. Over 29 seasons at Duquesne, Opperman has guided the Dukes to double-digit victories in all but two campaigns, including 15 seasons with at least 15 wins. The Ohio native has led Duquesne to 12 Atlantic 10 Tournament appearances and coached the program's first two AVCA All-Americans. Opperman's tenure has also produced 19 All-Atlantic 10 First and Second Team selections, 27 A-10 All-Rookie Team honorees and two A-10 Rookies of the Year.

Chart Toppers – A pair of Dukes continue to sit atop the Atlantic 10 leaderboard in multiple statistical categories, with senior Chloe Wilmot and junior Emersen Schrom leading the way. Wilmot currently paces the conference with 10.63 assists per set, while her 404 total assists also lead the league. Earlier this season, she added another milestone to her résumé, becoming just the sixth player in program history to surpass 3,000 career assists. Wilmot now has 3,328 career helpers, while her 126 service aces rank sixth in program history. Schrom continues to be a force offensively, leading the A-10 in points (183.5), points per set (4.83), service aces (29) and aces per set (0.76). She ranks fifth in the conference with 149 total kills, while her 3.92 kills per set are second in the league. The junior enters the weekend just 24 kills shy of 1,000 for her career, while her 112 career service aces rank ninth in program history.

A-10 Openers – Since 1986, the Dukes are 13-26 in Atlantic 10 openers, including a 10-18 mark under head coach Steve Opperman. Friday's conference opener will mark just the third time Duquesne and Fordham have squared off to open A-10 play, with the previous two meetings split. The Dukes earned a 3-0 victory over the Rams in 2009, while Fordham claimed a 3-2 win in 2023.

FOLLOW THE DUKES
For the latest news and information on Duquesne volleyball, follow the Dukes on Twitter (X) and Instagram.