Pittsburgh, Pa. – Capturing its third consecutive sweep of the weekend, the Duquesne volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Robert Morris in the final match of the Chick-fil-A Robinson Classic on Saturday afternoon inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. With the win, the Dukes improved to 6-0 on the season and swept the Colonials for the first time since 2018.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
It was a back-and-forth affair to open the first set before Duquesne took a 15-11 lead into the media timeout, capitalizing on a pair of Colonial miscues and a kill from junior
Emersen Schrom. Robert Morris trimmed the deficit to three, but the Dukes responded with a 6-2 run to extend their advantage to 21-14. The Colonials committed three miscues during the stretch, while senior
Jordan Robertson and freshman
Simone Searles each registered a kill to force an RMU timeout. Duquesne seized an early 1-0 lead in the match as Searles tallied a pair of kills down the stretch, while the Dukes capitalized on two additional Robert Morris hitting errors to secure a 25-16 victory.
FINDING A GROOVE
Behind a .387 hitting percentage and 15 kills, the Dukes extended their lead to 2-0 in the match with a 25-19 victory in the second stanza. Robert Morris jumped out to an early 9-7 advantage before a kill from Schrom and a rejection by Searles and classmate
Maddie Bush evened the score at nine-all. Following a Colonial point, Duquesne rattled off a 6-1 run to take a 15-11 lead. Searles tallied a pair of kills during the stretch, while Robertson and Schrom each found the floor successfully. RMU responded with a 7-3 burst to knot the score at 18-18, but the Dukes answered with a 7-1 run of their own to close out the set. Three different Dukes registered a kill during the decisive stretch, while Bush and Searles teamed up for a block as Duquesne pulled away to take a 2-0 match lead.
NO SETS DROPPED
Duquesne did not slow down in completing the sweep, posting 14 kills while hitting an impressive .414 in the final set. The Dukes jumped out to an early 8-4 advantage, with five different players recording a kill, including three from Searles. The Colonials answered with a 5-2 run to pull within one at 10-9, but Duquesne responded with a 12-5 surge to build a 22-14 advantage. Searles led the charge with four kills during the run, while Schrom added a pair of points as the Dukes capitalized on five Colonial miscues. Later in the set, freshman
Charlotte Arrington delivered the match point before sophomore
Kaylie Baumgart put the finishing touch on a perfect weekend for the Dukes.
QUOTABLE
"We were pleased with how our team played for our first home weekend," head coach Steve Opperman said. "We saw alot of nice progress with our roster. Our team continues to grind in practice, making great use of their contacts. Our/My staff is doing a great job of making adjustments in game and having our team prepared to compete. We look forward to this squad growing each week."
TRIPLE THE RECOGNITION
A trio of Dukes capped a perfect weekend with tournament recognition, as freshman
Simone Searles was named Tournament MVP while senior
Chloe Wilmot and junior
Emersen Schrom earned All-Tournament Team honors. Searles paced the Dukes with 5.22 points and 4.44 kills per set while hitting an impressive .493 for the weekend. She saved her best performance for the final match against Robert Morris, recording a season-high 17 kills while posting her top hitting percentage of the season at a blistering .586. Wilmot orchestrated the Duquesne offense throughout the weekend, averaging 10.56 assists and 2.00 digs per set while adding four service aces. The senior setter recorded 30-plus assists in all three matches and finished the weekend with 18 digs. Rounding out the trio, Schrom averaged 5.33 points, 4.22 kills and 2.67 digs per set while hitting .413. She posted double-figure kills in all three matches, recorded a kills-digs double-double and led the Dukes with eight service aces.
UP NEXT
Duquesne hits the road when it travels to Charleston, S.C. to compete in the Steve Baumrind Invitational, hosted by the College of Charleston on Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12. The Dukes open competition against Northern Kentucky at 10:00 a.m. before capping the night against the Cougars at 7:00 p.m. Duquesne will wrap up the weekend on Saturday against Notre Dame at 10:00 a.m.
