Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Dukes concluded its home portion of its schedule on Saturday evening, falling to VCU in straight sets, 3-0 inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse while celebrating Senior Day. With the loss, the Duquesne University volleyball team dropped to 13-15 this season and 4-12 in conference action.

POINT OF EMPHASIS
In the opening set, the Rams jumped out to an early 9-3 advantage, thanks to five consecutive points to force a Duquesne timeout. Out of the break, the Dukes responded with a 4-1 stint to cut the deficit 10-7, thanks to a pair of kills from junior Carsyn Henschen and a point from sophomore Jordan Robertson. VCU would stretch its lead to 15-9 after scoring five of the next seven points but the Dukes responded in a massive way. Duquesne would string together an 8-1 run which would give them its first lead of the set, 17-16. Graduate student Elizabeth Drelling sparked the stint with a kill, followed by consecutive errors by VCU. Drelling and Robertson would collect a block as the Rams registered a point but the Dukes registered four straight points to take the lead, Drelling found the floor successfully as freshman Emersen Schrom registered a pair of service aces and Robertson collected another block. After a VCU timeout, the Rams countered by bolstering a 7-2 stint to gain a 23-20 lead before taking the set, 25-21.

SET THREE
VCU would take a 2-0 lead in the match after capturing a 21-18 win in stanza two. The Rams would take an early 7-4 advantage in set three before the Dukes knotted the score at 8-8 with a 4-1 run. Freshman Tori Newton collected a service ace while Hobson and Robertson found the floor successfully. VCU would regain the lead as it swelled to 14-10 later in the set, thanks to them scoring six of the next eight points. Juniors Ariel Helm and Maggie Colenbrander cut the deficit to two with a pair of points before the Rams grabbed an 18-14 lead. Duquesne would continue to respond as it knotted the score at 20-all after putting together a 6-2 run. Hobson led the charge with a pair of kills while Henschen and Schrom each tallied a successful swing. VCU countered once again, ending the set on a 5-1 stint to win 25-21.

SENIOR SEND-OFF
Duquesne honored three seniors and a student manager before today's match, thanking them for their contributions to the program. Elizabeth Drelling, Grace Kristofic, Madison Floyd, and student manager Tori Fowler were honored. Drelling paced Duquesne with 12 kills on a .292 swing percentage while tallying a block. Kristofic ended the match with 12 assists and one dig for the Dukes. Floyd was unfortunately sidelined by a knee injury this season but has registered over 201.5 points in her career while totaling 130 kills, 95 total blocks, and 12 service aces. Fowler has been a manager for the Dukes from 2021-24 while earning her degree in physical therapy.

INSIDE THE STAT SHEET
Junior Carsyn Henschen ended with seven kills while Ariel Helm, Avery Hobson, and Jordan Robertson finished with four kills each. Hobson tallied nine digs while Robertson collected three blocks during the loss. Sophomore Chloe Wilmot controlled the offense with 17 assists and three digs while Emersen Schrom carded four service aces.

UP NEXT
Duquesne concludes its regular season when it travels to George Mason on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16.