Dukes Drop a Five-Set Heartbreaker to Miami (OH)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Duquesne University volleyball team fell to Miami (OH) in five sets Friday evening in the second match of the Chattanooga Classic.

Duquesne moves to 1-8 while Miami (OH) improves to 4-4.

The loss is a tough one for Duquesne, as it marks the fourth-straight match lost in five sets.

Freshman Carsyn Henschen led the Dukes when it came to kills. The young outside hitter had 15 of them to go along with two blocks.

Graduate student Elizabeth Osborn was right behind Henschen in the kills department with 14 and had her second-straight quality performance. She had 16 more digs and three more aces to go along with her season-best performance earlier today.

Senior Morgan Kelly and freshman Ariel Helm had the same number of kills for the second-straight game with 11 each. Helm ended the match with a .500 hitting percentage, and they both totaled four blocks.  

Senior Hailey Poling led the Dukes with 39 assists in this one.  

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first set was all Miami as it won 25-13. There wasn’t much to write home about for the Dukes in the first stanza as they could not get anything going.

The second set went better for the blue and red despite getting down 14-7 following an 8-1 Miami run. It got worse before it got better and the Dukes soon found themselves down 19-11. Something then clicked and they ripped off a 15-5 run, including seven-straight points to end the set for a remarkable comeback.

The Dukes played off that momentum in the third set and dominated this one from start to finish. They quickly found themselves up 12-5, then the lead grew even bigger at 19-9. The set was won comfortably by a score of 25-15.

In the fourth, the Dukes had a chance to close it out when it was tied at 19 points. Miami then found another gear and scored six of the last eight points to force a final set.

The fifth set was all too familiar for Duquesne recently, as Miami found a way to pull ahead and down the Dukes by a score of 15-12.

GAME NOTES

• Henschen becomes the first Duke to hit 100 kills this season. After her 15 in this match, she has 108 on the year.
• Henschen has now recorded 11 or more kills in six of the past seven matches. Her 93 kills lead the team.
• Helm leads the team with 37 blocks and averages 3.07 per set.
• Grimm tied a career high with 21 digs.

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