Liberty University
2-0,0-0ASUN
Duquesne
3-2,0-0Atlantic 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIBERTY | 21 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Duquesne | 25 | 15 | 25 | 20 | 10 | 2 |
Lady Flames Earn Comeback Victory, Down Duquesne in 5 Sets
9/3/2021 7:34:44 PM | Women's Volleyball
The Liberty volleyball team went a perfect 2-0 on opening day of its 2021 fall season, battling back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Duquesne in five sets (21-25, 25-15, 22-25, 25-20, 15-10), Friday at UPMC Events Center.
With the win, Liberty (2-0) clinches at least a share of the RMU/Chick-fil-A Robinson Labor Day Volleyball Classic. Duquesne falls to 3-2 on the season, sweeping Idaho this afternoon before dropping tonight’s five-setter to the Lady Flames.
Head Coach Trevor Johnson
“Man, what a crazy game! God is good! I’m so proud of our fight tonight! Our theme this year is PURSUE, and we pursued everything relentlessly! I’m excited to see our middle blockers, Aspen and Madison, continue to improve. I thought Trinity did some good things on her way to 21 kills! I though Lilly played well, as well. I can’t say enough about our serving. That’s what kept us in the match!”
Notable Numbers
• Liberty outhit Duquesne .271-.230 for the match. The Lady Flames also led in aces (10-7) and digs (41-39), while the Dukes held a 15-13 advantage in blocks.
• Trinity Watts scored a career-high 21 kills to lead all players and also added a career-high four aces. Aspen Thompson posted Liberty’s first kills-blocks double-double in nearly 10 years, with career highs in both kills (13) and blocks (10). Lilly Kruse sent down 13 kills at a .320 pace. Amaya Williams dished out 56 assists, while Madison Blane hit .438 with a career-high nine kills and Lindsey Hardesty served up four aces.
• Morgan Kelly led Duquesne with 19 kills, while Anita Parrott posted a team-high nine blocks. Hailey Poling dished out 45 assists and tied Hailey Larson for the team lead with three aces. Summer Slade scored 11 kills.
Match Summary
SET 1
• Duquesne held off a late Liberty rally in set one, scoring the final four points to win 25-21, as Slade scored the final two kills of the set. The Dukes hit .400 during the opening set, led by a 5-for-8 performance from Kelly.
SET 2
• Liberty broke open a tight second set, outscoring Duquesne 9-1 over the final 10 serves to win, 25-15. The Lady Flames hit .478, compared to .318 for the Dukes, while Liberty served up six set-two aces.
SET 3
• Duquesne jumped out to a 10-2 lead in set three. Liberty kept chipping away, fighting back from 23-15 to pull within two at 24-22. Kelly then ended the set with a kill.
• The Dukes outhit the Lady Flames .355-.235 in the third set, as Kelly and Watts both had six kills.
SET 4
• Liberty forced a fifth set by posting seven blocks during a 25-20 set-four win. Thompson factored in on five of those blocks.
SET 5
• The Lady Flames took control of set five, hitting while scoring 12 kills and holding the Dukes to just two kills. Watts hit .667 with five kills and Thompson hit .800 with four kills.
Quick Hits
• Liberty is now 2-1 all-time against Duquesne, winning that last two meetings including a 3-1 home win over the Dukes on Aug. 25, 2007.
• This is the first time in Liberty’s NCAA Division I era (since 1988) that the Lady Flames have won two matches on opening day. This is the first season that Liberty has opened 2-0 since 2015, when the Lady Flames started 3-0.
• Today was Liberty’s first five-set match since defeating La Salle 3-2 on Dec. 7, 2019. It was the first time Liberty overcame a 2-1 deficit in a match since defeating UNC Asheville 3-2 on Sept. 30, 2017.
• Liberty’s 10 aces were its most since serving up 10 aces at North Alabama, Feb. 14, 2021.
• Thompson is the fourth player in Liberty’s rally-scoring history (since 2001) with a kills-blocks double-double. Loren Thomas (Oct. 21, 2011 at Winthrop, Sept. 23, 2011 at Radford), Chelaine McCarty (Nov. 1, 2008 at Gardner-Webb) and Erin McKeown (Oct. 11, 2003 vs. Winthrop) were the other three.
• Thompson is the ninth Liberty player in rally-scoring history with a 10-block match, and first since Kailey Macy (10 blocks versus North Florida, Nov. 21, 2019).
• Williams posted her fourth career 50-assist match and 16th career double-double. Her 56 assists against Duquesne were her most since dishing out a career-high 59 assists against Presbyterian on Sept. 23, 2017.
Up Next
Liberty will face Idaho tomorrow at 11 a.m. to wrap up its participation at the RMU/Chick-fil-A Robinson Labor Day Volleyball Classic.
