Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
Charlotte
Duchek and Skrajewski Lead Musketeers Past 49ers
09.24.05 | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2005
Box Score
CINCINNATI - Senior Kate Duchek posted 20 kills and junior Danielle Skrajewski posted her third consecutive double-double as Xavier won its second game of the weekend over Charlotte. The Musketeers took down the 49ers by scores of 30-22, 29-31, 30-25 and 30-26 to improve to 9-5 on the season and 2-0 now in Atlantic 10 play. Charlotte falls to 6-10 and 1-1 in conference play.
In the opening game, Xavier came out hitting on all cylinders as XU took the early 12-point lead at 19-7 after a kill by Duchek. The Musketeers would carry the 12-point advantage to the 22-10 mark but a 9-3 run by Charlotte would cut the margin to only 26-21 before a Jill Quayle kill stopped the burst. A kill by Skrajewski would give Xavier its final point of the game and the 1-0 edge in the match.
Game two found 12 ties and 12 lead changes with each team pulling ahead and then falling back throughout the latter stages of the game. Duchek put XU up at two different points giving the Musketeers the 19-18 advantage and then again at 21-20 but a stingy Charlotte defense would not break. The 49ers rallied back and eventually grabbed the two-point advantage to take game two despite being outhit 18 kills to 15 kills.
The third game found the score even at 4-4 before a Carley Horvath kill capped a 9-2 Xavier spurt. The Musketeers would extend the lead to 24-15 after a block by Skrajewski and Jill Quayle but Charlotte would not surrender. The 49ers would close the gap to 25-20 but would not get any closer as XU took the match 30-25 for the 2-1 advantage.
The final game saw Charlotte earn a quick 7-6 lead but as was the case all night, Xavier responded with a 9-1 run and put away any hope of the 49ers comeback. Skrajewski recorded eight of her 13 kills in the final game, while Duchek had five of her match-high 20 in the final stanza, despite the 49ers holding the 6-3 advantage in blocks.
Duchek ended the night with a .302 hitting percentage and now has 10 or more kills in 11 of 14 matches this season. Skrajewski tallied her third consecutive double-double in the match and 26th of her career as the junior finished with 13 kills and 16 digs. Horvath and Quayle rounded out the XU frontline attack with 13 kills and six block assists and 12 kills and nine block assist, respectively. Freshman Jenn Welsh was second on the team with 14 digs, while dishing out 54 assists in the match. Senior libero Jordan Brightwell also had 12 digs in the match, marking the ninth time this season she has posted 10 or more digs in a match.
Xavier will return to action next weekend as the Musketeers take its first Atlantic 10 road trip of the season. XU will take on Rhode Island on Friday night at 7:00 pm and then make the trek to New York City to battle Fordham at 7:00 pm on Saturday night.
