ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis and Duquesne once again played to five sets, but this time the Dukes came out on top, defeating the Billikens 3-2 Saturday in Atlantic 10 Conference volleyball action at Chaifetz Pavilion.
The teams split the weekend series, with SLU winning last night in five sets and Duquesne today in five. The Billikens dip to 8-9 overall and 3-2 in the A-10. Duquesne improved to 11-5, 2-2.
Addy Brus led the Billikens in kills for a second straight match with 25. She added 10 digs for a double-double.
Delaney Rice contributed 15 kills and hit .303, while Trinity Luckett had nine kills.Â
Carlie Rodgers led SLU with 13 digs, while Addie Lyon posted 10 digs and a team-high 33 assists.
Duquesne had a balanced attack with five players posted eight or more kills. Emerson Schrom led the way with 14 kills. Avery Hobson had a match-high 10 blocks.
Duquesne def. Saint Louis 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-11
Set 1 – It was a game of runs in the first set. The Billikens fell behind early but had four straight points to force a Duquesne timeout. Duquesne responded with a 4-0 run of its own to grab a lead it would not relinquish, and the Dukes came away with the 25-22 opening set win.
Set 2 – The Bills fell behind 6-2 in the second before they started chipping away. Kills by Kayla Jansen, Bruce and Rice put SLU ahead. The Billikens kept Duquesne at bay and on 25-21 to even things at 1-1.
Set 3 – Set three was close throughout, as neither team managed an advantage of more than two points. The Billikens led 22-21, but Duquesne ended the set with a 4-1 rally to give the Dukes the 2-1 advantage.
Set 4 – It was all Billikens in the fourth set. They went on top 4-0, and Duquesne responded to pull within on at 6-5, before SLU erupted to put the set away, winning 25-16 to force the fifth set.
Set 5 – The decisive set was back-and-forth early on. The Billikens went on top 6-5, and Duquesne responded with a 4-0 rally. The teams traded points, but the Dukes finished on a 4-1 flurry to take the set, and the match.
Saint Louis travels to Richmond, Virginia, to take on VCU next weekend.
