Blue Devils Best Yellow Jackets in ACC Opener

Friday, September 26

Durham, N.C.

6:30 PM

Duke University

Georgia Tech

Middles Tucker & Meyer Guide Duke Past UMKC

Blue Devils Best Yellow Jackets in ACC Opener

9/26/2014 9:48:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Four Blue Devils totaled 13 or more kills as the Duke volleyball team opened its ACC schedule with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-12) victory over Georgia Tech Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils remained unbeaten at home with a 7-0 record in Cameron Indoor Stadium this season while also improving their overall record to 9-3 (1-0 ACC). Georgia Tech fell to 7-7 (0-1 ACC) with the loss.

“It was a complete team win,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “I heard the sideline in it as much as I heard the people on the court. I thought it was a tremendous win for us tonight.”

Junior Emily Sklar amassed 18 kills to lead a Duke offense which knocked down 68 kills and hit .340 on the night. Tonight's match marked the fourth time this season the Blue Devils have posted a hitting percentage of .300 or better as a team.

Senior Jeme Obeime put down 17 kills and sophomore middle blockers Alyse Whitaker and Jordan Tucker chipped in with 13 kills each. Senior setter Kelsey Williams orchestrated the offense. Williams tallied her first double-double of the season, dishing out a career-high 60 assists while adding 13 digs.

The Duke defense kept Georgia Tech in check for much of the match, limiting the Yellow Jackets to a .188 hitting percentage. Georgia Tech hit .441 in the opening set, but the Blue Devils buckled down on defense and held the Yellow Jackets to a .109 clip over the final three frames.

Led by sophomore libero Sasha Karelov, Duke picked up 71 digs to Georgia Tech's 51. Karelov added 25 digs to eclipse the 20-dig threshold for the fifth time in 2014.

An Obeime kill put Duke up 13-9 in the first set, but the Blue Devils faltered down the stretch and eventually dropped the frame, 25-21. Sophomore Teegan Van Gunst dropped five of her 18 kills during Georgia Tech's 14-7 rally to help the Yellow Jackets take a 23-20 lead. Georgia Tech then put the set away on a Duke service error and an Annika Van Gunst ace.

“We weren't serving very well,” Nagel said. “We weren't communicating that well and we were a little tight, frozen almost. We weren't touching enough balls on the block nor were we pursuing balls on defense. That was a tough set. We weren't getting in a rhythm. Going into set two, I thought we started out doing a better job with our serve. Then we started to touch more balls on the block and we were able to dig more and then transition. We started to flow a little bit better.”

Duke's offense came out firing on all cylinders to open the second set. Sklar knocked down four kills over the opening five points of a stanza in which Duke never trailed. The early 5-0 margin ballooned into a 17-9 Blue Devil advantage, and Duke cruised to the 25-15 win. Sklar finished with five second-set kills while the Duke defense stymied the Georgia Tech hitters into a .026 hitting percentage.

An early three-point lead to start the third set disappeared by the midway point as Georgia Tech tied the score at 13-13 on a Callie Bivings kill. Duke responded with a 4-0 run and seemed to be in control until a 5-0 Yellow Jacket spurt gave Georgia Tech the 20-19 advantage. The Blue Devils again had an answer, finishing off the frame with six straight points. Sklar added three kills in that span while Whitaker put down two to help Duke seal the 25-20 decision.

The fourth set belonged entirely to the Blue Devils, 25-12. Duke totaled 20 kills, including eight from Obeime, and hit a scalding .621 to put the match away. Eight of the first 10 points went to Duke and Georgia Tech was never able to recover. Up 22-12, the Blue Devils hammered three consecutive kills to finish off the set.

Duke resumes its schedule Sunday, facing Miami at 1 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Hurricanes defeated Notre Dame, 3-0, Friday in Coral Gables, Fla., to open their ACC slate.

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