Rhode Island
Duquesne Bounces Back at Rhode Island, 3-1 – Duquesne University Athletics
Kingston, RI. – On Saturday afternoon, the Duquesne University volleyball team concluded its series at Rhode Island, bouncing back with a 3-1 victory inside Keaney Gymnasium in conference action. The Dukes improve to 12-7 overall while jumping to 3-4 in Atlantic 10 action.
POINT OF EMPHASIS
Duquesne opened the match with one of its best performances in a set, posting 22 kills and a .348 swing percentage, in claiming a 26-24 win in the opening stanza. The two teams traded the first 14 points before the Dukes held a 13-10 lead later in the set. Four different players registered a kill for Duquesne, led by junior Carsyn Henschen and sophomore Jordan Robertson, who each tallied a pair. Later in the set, the Rams would tie the score at 15-all before taking a 19-17 advantage. A kill from junior Ariel Helm and sophomore Avery Hobson knotted the score at 20-20 before Rhode Island held a 24-22 lead. Duquesne responded with four consecutive points to rally and take the first set. Graduate student Elizabeth Drelling started the run with a kill before back-to-back kills from Hobson and Robertson sealed the win for Duquesne.
RAN AWAY WITH IT
After dropping set two, the Dukes bounced back with a .364 hitting percentage, taking a 2-1 match advantage. It was a back-and-forth affair to begin the contest as both teams traded the opening 20 points of the set. Later in the set, the Dukes jumped out to a 19-14 advantage, thanks to 6-1 stint. Freshman Emersen Schrom started the run with a successful swing, followed by a block from Hobson and Helm. Hobson found the floor successfully before a kill from Henschen stretched the Dukes lead. After a point from the Rams, Duquesne recorded six straight points to claim a 25-15 win. Helm tallied a kill to begin the stint before an attacking error from Rhode Island pushed the Dukes lead to six. Henschen and Helm collected a rejection while Helm found the floor successfully before Henschen carded consecutive kills to end the set.
BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN
Duquesne jumped out to an early 7-3 advantage before stretching its lead to 14-8 with a 7-5 stint. Hobson paced the team with a pair of kills while Drelling and Schrom each tallied a successful swing. Rhode Island netted a pair of points before Duquesne scored four of the next five points to hold an 18-11 advantage, Helm found the floor successfully while Robertson carded a point in the stint. Schrom and Robertson also posted a rejection in the run. Rhode Island trimmed the deficit to four but the Dukes ended the set of a 6-1 stint, while taking advantage of four attacking errors from the Rams to take the match.
INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
A pair of Dukes finished with double figures, let by Elizabeth Drelling and Avery Hobson. Each finished with 14 kills while Hobson posted her first double-double of the season, ending with 15 digs and three blocks. Henschen and Robertson each tallied nine kills while combining for six total blocks. Graduate student Grace Kristofic and sophomore Chloe Wilmot each carded 23 assists while Wilmot posted seven digs and Kristofic collected three aces. Junior Madison Grimm registered her first career double-double with 12 digs and 11 helpers.
UP NEXT
Duquesne returns to UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse when it welcomes Fordham for an Atlantic 10 series on Friday, Oct. 18 at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 19 at 1:00 p.m.