Pittsburgh, Pa. – It was a milestone night for junior
Emersen Schrom as the Duquesne volleyball team battled back to defeat Fordham, 3-2, in its Atlantic 10 opener Friday night inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the victory, the Dukes improved to 10-2 (.833) overall and 1-0 in conference play, marking the best start to a season in program history.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
The Dukes battled back to force a fifth set and jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, highlighted by a pair of kills from Schrom, a point from junior
Mirabella Iriarte and a block from senior
Chloe Wilmot and Iriarte. The Rams trimmed the deficit to 5-3 before Duquesne answered with an 8-1 run to take a commanding 13-4 advantage. Schrom fueled the surge with three kills and an ace, while Wilmot and freshman
Simone Searles also found the floor successfully. Freshman
Londyn Stone would seal the victory with a kill, giving the Dukes a 15-6 fifth-set win.
TURNING THE TIDE
The Dukes answered the challenge once again after dropping the third set, rallying for a 25-12 victory to force a deciding fifth set. Duquesne dominated the fourth stanza, registering 15 kills and four aces while holding Fordham to just five kills in the frame. The Dukes cruised to an early 15-4 advantage, fueled by a trio of kills from Schrom and Searles, while Wilmot added a pair of aces. Later in the stanza, Schrom pushed the Duquesne cushion to 20-8 before two kills from Searles, a point from Stone and a pair of Fordham miscues helped the Dukes even the match at 2-2.
BOUNCE BACK
Duquesne bounced back after dropping the opening set, 25-20, hitting .346 with 12 kills in the second frame. The two teams traded the opening 18 points before Fordham grabbed an 11-9 lead following back-to-back kills. The Dukes quickly answered, knotting the score at 11 on consecutive kills from junior
Emersen Schrom and freshman
Londyn Stone before the Rams regained a 13-11 advantage. Duquesne responded with a 10-2 burst to take a 21-15 lead, with junior
Mirabella Iriarte and freshman
Simone Searles pacing the surge with two kills apiece and a block, while senior
Delaney McIntosh added a service ace. After the teams traded the next four points, a Fordham service error and a Rams miscue helped Duquesne close out the set, 25-17, and even the match at one set apiece.
1K CLUB
Emersen Schrom entered Friday night's match 24 kills shy of the 1,000-kill milestone and delivered in a big way. With her fourth kill of the fifth set, the junior eclipsed 1,000 career kills, joining an elite group of Duquesne volleyball players to reach the milestone. Schrom finished the night with 25 kills while hitting an impressive .420, adding a pair of service aces and three digs. She opened the match with six kills before recording five successful swings in each of the second, fourth and fifth sets. The performance marked the 12th time in her career she has recorded 20 or more kills in a match and the 10th time she has reached double figures this season. The Pittsburgh native continues to rank among the Atlantic 10's best, leading the conference in points (183.5), points per set (4.83) and service aces (31). Schrom now has 1,001 career kills and leads the Dukes while ranking among the top three in the conference with 174 kills this season.
QUOATBALE
"What a great volleyball match to be a part of," head coach
Steve Opperman said. "Our kids showed a lot of resilience at the end of the match to secure a victory. Hats off to Emersen on reaching 1,000 career kills! To accomplish that this early in her junior year is an incredible achievement. Looking forward to competing again tomorrow!"
BY THE NUMBERS
Joining Schrom in double figures were
Simone Searles and
Londyn Stone. Searles recorded her third double-double of the season, posting a season-high 18 kills and 11 digs while hitting .344. Stone added her second double-double of the season, finishing with 10 kills and 13 digs while collecting a pair of aces.
Mirabella Iriarte added five kills while hitting .333 and chipped in a block off the bench, while
Delaney McIntosh tied her career high with 23 digs and added four assists and three aces.
Chloe Wilmot orchestrated the offense with 51 assists, falling just shy of a double-double with nine digs, while also recording two and a half blocks and two aces.
UP NEXT
Duquesne closes out its series with Fordham on Saturday, Sept. 26, with the opening service schedule for 2:00 p.m. inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
