Noah Fries | sports editor

The Duquesne women’s volleyball team had a near-perfect start to its 2026 campaign, dropping just one set over the weekend en route to match wins against Canisius, Youngstown State and Mercyhurst at the YSU Invitational in Youngstown, Ohio.

Senior setter Chloe Wilmot was named MVP of the tournament with 111 assists, 13 digs, six blocks and nine kills across the three matches. Wilmot was also named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, the first of her career.

Freshman outside hitter Londyn Stone dominated in her first collegiate action, totaling 35 kills and 22 digs while earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.

Wilmot surpassed 3,000 assists for her career, becoming the sixth player in program history to receive that accolade. She came into the tournament needing 76 helpers and reached the milestone in the fourth set of the match against Youngstown State.

“It’s just a testament to what she’s been doing and how she’s been training,” Head Coach Steve Opperman said. “She stayed over the summer and just put in a lot of hard work. It’s a testament to her commitment to making herself a better player and, in turn, making us a better team.”

Despite just three returning starters — Wilmot, senior middle blocker Jordan Robertson and junior outside hitter Emersen Schrom — being on the floor at the onset of the match against Canisius, there was a feeling of comfortability evident on the court from the opening serve.

The Dukes jumped out early with a couple of quick runs — including three consecutive aces from freshman right side hitter Simone Searles, the first of her career. Four Dukes tallied kills in the first set, riding a .429 hitting percentage to a 25-15 set win.

The second set was much closer, with the Dukes holding a 13-12 lead over the Golden Griffins in the middle of the set before a 9-2 Duquesne run quickly put the set out of reach.

After jumping out to an 18-5 lead in the third set, Duquesne was able to quickly put away Canisius 25-12, winning the match after hitting .520 and not committing a service error in the final stanza. Schrom led the team with 14 kills and 10 digs, while Wilmot notched 35 assists.

“I think it really shows how great my teammates are,” Wilmot said when asked about her personal accolades. “It shows how well our passing, our serve receive, defense and how well our attacking is. I wouldn’t be nearly as successful without all of that.”

From the opening serve, the Penguins of Youngstown State battled hard against the Dukes in the second game of the weekend. The Penguins jumped out to a 10-4 advantage before Duquesne fought back with a 12-4 run of its own. The set was knotted at 23 before back-to-back kills from Schrom clinched the set win for Dukes.

Duquesne hit .310 in the second set to Youngstown State’s .188, and the Dukes put the Penguins on the brink with a 25-19 set win. Three Dukes — Schrom, Searles and Stone —recorded at least three kills in the set.

Despite Duquesne holding a 20-16 advantage late in the third set, the Penguins wouldn’t go away. A 7-0 service run put them in the driver’s seat before sealing the set 25-21 and extending the match.

The fourth set, however, was all Duquesne. Two big runs late in the set — highlighted by freshman middle blocker Maddie Bush notching a kill and a block and kills from Schrom, Searles and Stone — was all the Dukes needed to win the match with a 25-15 set victory.

Stone and Schrom both finished with 17 kills, while each added eight and seven digs, respectively. Redshirt senior libero Delaney McIntosh tallied a career-high 22 digs after transferring from Colorado State in the offseason.

“It’s definitely a little nerve-wracking,” Stone said of obtaining her coaches’ confidence so early. “But, it’s definitely something that I don’t take lightly. I am still striving to keep showing up and keep proving myself — making sure that I’m constantly trying to get better on and off the court.”

The final match of the weekend against Mercyhurst had a very similar outcome to the other two — sets categorized by late runs for the Dukes that would allow them to pull away. A 10-3 run late in the first set would put them up for good, and a 6-3 run at the end of the second set would lead to a 2-0 lead in sets.

The third set was dominant for Duquesne, riding a .333 hitting percentage — and a -.069 hitting percentage for the Lakers — to a 25-11 victory to send the squad home with a perfect record.

Wilmot tallied 30 assists to cap off her MVP weekend, with 12 Dukes seeing the floor at different points in the match.

Stone paced the Dukes with 12 kills, while Bush had five blocks for her career high. Searles added 10 kills for her second consecutive match. McIntosh added another 15 digs to her impressive weekend statline.

“We got to see everyone on the court this weekend, which was a nice bonus for us to have as a coaching staff,” Opperman said. “Everyone on our roster contributed to us winning over the weekend.”

Duquesne will be back in action this weekend at home, taking on Eastern Michigan and Elon Friday before taking on crosstown rival Robert Morris Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Robinson Classic.

Noah Fries can be reached at friesn@duq.edu