Washington, D.C.– Junior outside hitter
Emersen Schrom and freshman right side
Simone Searles of the Duquesne volleyball team earned a pair of Atlantic 10 weekly honors, announced by the league office Tuesday. Schrom was named A-10 Player of the Week, while Searles collected Rookie of the Week honors.
The duo helped the Dukes extend their winning streak to six straight for the second consecutive season, leading Duquesne to a trio of sweeps at the Chick-fil-A Robinson Classic over the weekend.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Schrom earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team after averaging 5.33 points, 4.22 kills and 2.67 digs per set while hitting .413 throughout the weekend. She opened the tournament with her second kills-digs double-double of the season, recording 11 kills and 10 digs while adding three service aces and hitting .364 in a victory over Eastern Michigan. The junior followed with 15 kills, six digs and five aces while hitting an impressive .481 in a sweep of Elon. Schrom capped the weekend with 12 kills and eight digs while posting a .385 hitting percentage in a 3-0 victory over Robert Morris.
The Hampton product currently leads the Atlantic 10 in points per set (4.89), which ranks 22nd nationally, while her 4.05 kills per set pace the conference and rank 45th in NCAA Division I. Schrom has also been exceptional from the service line, recording 13 aces to lead the A-10 and rank 24th nationally.
Searles, a native of Marietta, Ga., continues to thrive in her first season on the Bluff, earning MVP honors after averaging 5.22 points and 4.44 kills per set while hitting an impressive .493. She totaled 40 kills, 16 digs, seven blocks and three service aces across three matches. Searles opened the tournament with 15 kills, three digs, two aces and a .379 hitting percentage in a victory over Eastern Michigan before closing out the day with eight kills, seven digs, four blocks and an impressive .533 hitting percentage in a sweep of Elon. The freshman saved her best performance for the final match, recording a season-high 17 successful swings while hitting a blistering .586 with no errors in a sweep of Robert Morris. She also added six digs and two blocks in the victory.
Searles continues to impress in her first season as her .430 hitting percentage leads the Atlantic 10, while her 4.50 points and 3.63 kills per set rank second in the league behind Schrom.
The honor marks Schrom's first Player of the Week recognition of the season and the fifth of her career, while Searles earns her first collegiate weekly accolade. She becomes the first Duquesne player to capture Rookie of the Week honors since Schrom did so in September 2024.
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