Noah Fries | staff writer

The Duquesne volleyball team won both of their matches against Rhode Island at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse over the weekend, losing just one set combined. The 2-0 weekend split improved the Dukes’ record to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in conference play.

Two Dukes hit major career milestones, as junior setter Chloe Wilmot achieved her 2,500th assist on Friday and senior middle blocker Ariel Helm notched her 400th career block on Saturday.

Helm is just the third player in program history to achieve that feat.

“It’s a really big accomplishment for me,” Helm said. “I think it’s really nice just to know that I’ve been able to do something with the help of my teammates and coaches. I think them believing in me and allowing me to showcase my skills is really nice.”

The first match of the weekend was Duquesne’s annual Dig for a Cure night, a pink-out match in support of breast cancer awareness. The team was clad in pink shirts for warmups and sported pink ribbons in their hair for the game.

Rhode Island started this match in control of the game with a number of runs and capitalizing off Duquesne errors, resulting in a 25-20 set win for the Rams.

After that set win for the Rams, however, it would be all Duquesne the rest of the way. An extremely balanced attack for the Dukes — while hitting an extremely efficient .533 — would lead to a 25-17 set win.

The Dukes would go on to win the next set 25-11, capitalizing on 11 attacking errors from the Rams and an 11-point service run for Wilmot.

Rhode Island wouldn’t go away and was down by as little as two late in the fourth set. However, a kill from standout sophomore outside hitter Emersen Schrom would win the match for the Dukes with a 25-22 set victory.

Four Dukes notched double figures in kills — senior right side Carsyn Henschen (17), Schrom (13), Helm (11) and freshman outside hitter Karli Jordan (11). Wilmot tallied 49 assists in her milestone game and is just the eighth player in program history to surpass the 2,500-assist threshold.

After the match, Henschen echoed the importance of their success over the weekend, recognizing the importance of Dig for a Cure night.

“It’s one of those nights where we’re playing for something bigger than ourselves,” Henschen added. “Not that we don’t play for each other already, but when we have that great of a cause to play for, it’s always exciting to get out and play for them.”

In the second game of the weekend, Duquesne came out just as hot as they had the night before. A couple of quick runs gave the Dukes a 15-7 lead at the media timeout, and another string of runs resulted in a 25-17 set win.

Henschen was dominant in the set, totaling six of the Dukes’ 13 kills.

The second set was much closer, with the Dukes and the Rams splitting the first 22 points of the set before a 5-0 service run from junior middle blocker Jordan Robertson gave the Dukes a 16-11 advantage. A late run pulled the Rams within two points, but the Dukes were able to fend them off, winning 25-20.

Duquesne had all of the momentum, and the third set would be no different. A quick run from senior outside hitter Hanna Wilson gave the Dukes a 3-0 lead that they would never relinquish, and a 25-18 set victory would give Duquesne its seventh sweep of the year.

Henschen and Schrom tied for the game high in kills with 12, with Schrom adding 11 digs, three blocks, and two aces to her stat line. Wilmot added 35 assists, and Helm led the team in blocks with six.

Opperman had a lot of praise for Wilmot, Helm and Henschen — who just recently passed 1,000 career kills — and their milestones.

“Those milestones are amazing,” Opperman said. “They get those collectively for the work they put in and the work that their teammates put in.”

Noah Fries can be reached at friesn@duq.edu