Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
Duquesne
Musketeers Down Duquesne 3-1
11.04.05 | Volleyball
Nov. 4, 2005
Box Score
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - In a hard-fought match, Xavier came out on the right side of the scoreboard as the Musketeers defeated Duquesne 3-1 in Atlantic 10 action on Friday evening at the A.J. Palumbo Center. XU took the match with scores of 30-22, 27-30, 30-21 and 30-27. Xavier improves to 17-10 on the season and now stands at 9-3 in A-10 play, while the Dukes fall to 14-11 and 4-6 in conference action.
The Musketeers struck first by taking the opening game. Carley Horvath, Kate Duchek and Jill Quayle each tallied four kills in the opener. With only one tied and one lead change in the game, XU took the 10-9 advantage and turned it into a quick 26-16 edge before closing out the game.
Duquesne responded in the second game and jumped out to the early lead. The Dukes would increase that margin to 11 at the 21-10 mark before XU would mount a clutch rally. The Musketeers would serve seven straight points with Astyn Bjorklund behind the line and cut the deficit to only five, 25-20, after the spurt. Xavier would come as close as three twice before Duquesne finally closed out the contest to knot the match at one game apiece.
XU responded in game three and came out of the break with a purpose. The Musketeers took the early 6-1 lead and would eventually open the margin to 12 at 24-12 after two kills from Duchek. Duchek finished with six on the game, while Quayle and Danielle Skrajewski each posted four apiece.
Xavier jumped out to the early lead again in the fourth and final game. XU pushed leads of six on three occasions with the score at 7-1, 21-15 and 22-18 before the Dukes powered back. Duquesne cut the XU lead to only two at 28-26 before trading points the rest of the way.
Skrajewski picked up where she left off posting her 13th double-double of the season and eighth in the last nine matches. The junior finished with 19 kills and 15 digs. Duchek earned match-high honors after notching her own double-double with 25 kills and 10 digs. Quayle finished the match as the only other Musketeer in double figure kills as the sophomore ended with 14 and a .393 hitting percentage. Freshman Jenn Welsh dished out 65 assists on the night and also led the XU backline with 16 digs. Jordan Brightwell and Horvath also had double digit digs finishing with 15 and 14, respectively.
With the win, Xavier claimed a spot in the 2005 Atlantic 10 Tournament hosted by the University of Rhode Island. XU will travel to URI on November 18. Times and seeds are yet to be announced.
Xavier will have a travel day on Saturday before taking on the Billikens of Saint Louis on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm inside of Bauman-Eberhardt Center. Duquesne will also take the day off tomorrow and get set to battle A-10 West leader Dayton on Sunday at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
