Duke Takes Down Wake Forest 3-2 by Rallying in the Fifth

  0 volleymob | October 13th, 2016 | College - Women's Indoor, News

Duke Press Release

Down four points in the fifth, Duke rallied late to knock off Wake Forest 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 15-12) Wednesday evening in Lawrence Joel Memorial Coliseum.

After trailing the fifth 6-2, Duke (12-5, 6-1 ACC) pulled within a point four times before finally tying the score 12-all on an Anna Kropf kill. Following a Wake Forest (7-11, 3-4 ACC) attack error, Jordan Tucker dropped a kill before Duke turned to Kropf again for the final kill. All four of Kropf’s kills in the match came in the fifth to help the Blue Devils win their fourth five-set match of the season.

“We dug a big hole for ourselves in that fifth set, which you never want to do,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “We did a good job of moving on to the next point. That first touch was really important. Anna stayed very in tune with the match. She came in and just did a great job to light us up at a crucial time.”

Tucker led the Blue Devils with 16 kills and four blocks, followed by freshman rigthside hitter Samantha Amos, who hammered a career-high 14 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Leah Meyer was the third Blue Devils in double-digit kills, adding 13. Those three also combined to post a .376 hitting percentage.

Freshman setter Cindy Marina dished out 58 assists to top the 50-assist threshold for the fourth time this season.

Wake Forest hit .298 over the first three frames before Duke’s defense buckled down the final two sets. The Blue Devils limited the Demon Deacons to a .091 clip in the fourth, followed by a .136 mark in the fifth.

Senior libero Sasha Karelov surpassed 20 digs for the ninth time during the 2016 campaign, picking up a match-high 29. Defensive specialists Chloe Dipasquale and Nicole Elattrache chipped in with 11 digs apiece. In addition, Duke totaled 7.0 of its 10.0 blocks during the final two sets.

“Really excited we were able to block some balls more in the fourth and fifth sets,” Nagel added. “We weren’t executing in the first set. We started doing better in the second. The block really helped us in the fourth set. Then we were able to relax a little bit and control the first touches better and create some more offense, too. Our middles continued to work their butts off out there to also be available on offense.”

Duke and Wake Forest split the match’s first 12 points before the Demon Deacons mounted a 5-0 rally. Down 17-10, the Blue Devils went on a 4-0 stretch to trim the margin. Duke pulled within three several times, but could not overcome the deficit, falling 25-20.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in the second and maintained the lead throughout, recording a 25-22 decision to even the match. Wake Forest threatened late, narrowing the margin to 22-20 before Amos knocked down a kill off a Duke timeout. Tucker salted away the set, dropping her sixth kill of the set in front of the Demon Deacon backline to seal the victory.

The two teams traded points throughout the third before Wake Forest emerged with a 25-22 win. Following an 18-all tie, the Demon Deacons received back-to-back kills from Kylie Long. Duke went to Amos for three kills down the stretch to keep within a point, but the Deacons closed out the frame with a Bailey Shurbet kill and block.

After hitting .298 the first three frames, Wake Forest posted a .091 clip with nine attack errors in the fourth, resulting in a 25-17 Duke win. The Blue Devils led 9-6 early and extended the difference to 18-12 down the stretch. Jessi Bartholomew and Meyer went up for the block to win the set and force a fifth frame.

“It’s wonderful to be able to get a win on the road in the ACC because it’s never easy,” Nagel said. “I’m really proud of them to gut it out and work their tails off out there to get it done.”

Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Virginia Saturday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Courtesy of Duke Athletics.

Wake Forest Press Release

Wake Forest volleyball fell to Duke, 3-2, on Wednesday night at LJVM Coliseum.

Wake Forest (7-11) and Duke (12-5) began what would be a back-and-forth affair from the very beginning, splitting the first 12 points. The Demon Deacons then went on a 5-0 run, forcing Duke into a timeout. The Deacs then lead throughout the set, thanks to solid attack efforts from Kylie Long,Caitlyn Della and Katie Moore. The trio recorded 14 combined kills and a .367 attack percentage to stymie the Duke defense. Despite the strong Demon Deacon offense, the Blue Devils did not back down. Duke pulled within three points on six separate occasions but the Deacs would take the first set, 25-20.

The Blue Devils finally found their stride in the second set, jumping out to a 7-3 lead and refusing to look back. Duke recorded a .333 attack percentage as a squad but it was Jordan Tucker and Samantha Amos who led the Blue Devils to the set victory. Tucker recorded one error and six kills on nine total attacks to finish the set with a .556 attack percentage while Amos recorded four kills and no errors for a .571 clip. The Blue Devils tied up the match with a 25-22 second set victory.

Both teams came out hot for the third set. Much like the first, the squads traded runs and points, with the Deacs scoring six-straight points only to allow Duke seven-straight. Down 13-10, the Deacs managed to keep fighting and tie the score 18-all. Back-to-back kills from Kylie Long, who totaled 16 on the night, would give the Deacs a two-point lead and the confidence they needed to finish the set. A huge block assist from Long and Della finished the set 25-22 in favor of Wake Forest.

While the previous three sets had been nail-biters, the fourth set was all Duke. The Demon Deacons were plagued with errors, swinging only a .091 attack percentage, while the Blue Devils recorded five total team blocks. The Blue Devils easily took the set 25-17 to force a fifth and deciding set.

Wake Forest was the first squad to hit the eight-point mark in the fifth set, leading 8-6 at the switch. The remainder of the match would prove to be just as exciting as the first four sets as Duke rallied from a four-point deficit to take the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Sophomore Katie Moore recorded a career-high 14 kills in the match, previously 13 kills against Loyola Chicago on Sept. 3 of this season. Moore recorded 14 kills and only three errors on 30 total attempts for a .367 attack percentage.

Freshman Caitlyn Della also recorded a career-high with 13 kills, surpassing her previous mark of 12 against Notre Dame. Della swung a .333 attack percentage and totaled only four errors.

The Demon Deacons continue their six-match homestand on Oct. 14 against Virginia. The match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Summit School.

Courtesy of Wake Forest Athletics

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