Score: VCU 3, Duquesne 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-21)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. (UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse)
Records: VCU 16-8 (14-2 Atlantic 10), Duquesne 13-15 (4-12)
 
The short story: Freshman Lara Del Core fired a match-high 13 kills, and VCU served up 11 aces on the way to a sweep of Duquesne Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Rams have won 12 straight matches.
 
OPENING VOLLEY

• Del Core needed just 21 swings to rack up her 13 kills and hit .571 on the night. She also rang up four aces
• Junior opposite Julia Rienks hit .588 on 17 attempts and finished with 12 kills for the Black and Gold
• Junior outside hitter Kalina Pylinska spiked 10 kills and hit .409 for the Rams, while graduate middle blocker Jasmine Knight chipped in seven kills and a block, while hitting .556
• Elizabeth Drelling paced the Dukes with 12 kills

THE DIFFERENCE

• The Rams hit a season-high .429 in Saturday's match and committed a season-low nine hitting errors on the way to a convincing victory
• VCU also used advantages in aces (11-6), blocks (5-3) and digs (36-32) to handle Duquesne for the 16^th time in 17 meetings
• The Black and Gold hit .600 in the third set alone

NOTABLE

• VCU matched its program record for conference victories in a season with 14. The Rams finished 14-0 in Atlantic 10 Conference play in 2017 and 2019
• The Rams began the year 1-6, but have since won 15 of 17 matches, including the last 12 in a row
• With one weekend of regular season play remaining, VCU has clinched the No. 2 seed in the A-10 Tournament

NEXT UP
VCU will close out its regular season Nov. 15-16 at Fordham. Friday's match is set to get underway at 3 p.m.