Oct. 20, 2006

Box Score

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Xavier junior Jenni Horvath used a career effort to help lead the Musketeers past host Duquesne, 3-0, in Atlantic 10 conference action on Friday night at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Horvath surpassed her previous career high in digs by five and established a new mark with 22 digs on the evening. The win moves XU to 14-9 on the season and 7-1 in A-10 play, while the Dukes fall to 8-18 overall and 2-6 in conference action.

Horvath led the Musketeers defensively with her career-high 22 digs and added five kills and five assists on the night. Freshman Kelly Ruth also was active on the backline as the rookie totaled 16 digs and 10 kills to finish with her sixth career double double. Senior Danielle Skrajewski also added a double double with 11 kills and 12 digs for her 48th career double double. Sophomore Megan Hellmann and Lauren Kaminsky each added 11 digs to round out the XU defensive effort. At the net, senior Astyn Bjorklund and Jill Quayle notched 11 and 13 kills, respectively. Quayle also finished with a match-high .684 hitting percentage. Sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 47 assists and also had three kills, five digs and an ace.

As a team, the Musketeers set a new season-high for digs in a three game match with 85 digs. Five XU players notched 10 or more digs with Horvath's 22 leading the way. The Musketeers only managed one total team block on the match but was able to hold Duquesne to a .155 hitting percentage as a team.

Xavier is now 23-4 against the Dukes all-time. XU's last loss to the Dukes came during the 2003 season as DU took a match at the A.J. Palumbo Center by a score of 3-1. The Musketeers have swept the Dukes each of the past two seasons and the two teams will meet for the final time this season on Nov. 11 at Cintas Center.

Xavier will return to the court on Sunday as the Musketeers travel to Saint Louis for a 2:00 pm match. The all-time series with the Billikens is currently tied at 8-8 with XU taking both meetings last season. The first meeting last season was the first time the two teams had met since the 1991 season. The previously unbeaten Billikens lost to Dayton, 3-1, on Friday night in St. Louis.