No. 19 Duke Falls in Five at Michigan

Friday, September 5

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:00 PM

Duke University

Michigan

No. 19 Duke Falls in Five at Michigan

9/5/2014 10:30:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Despite a career-high 21 kills from senior Jeme Obeime, the No. 19 Duke volleyball team fell in five sets at Michigan (2-3: 25-21, 23-25, 16-25, 25-22, 10-15) Friday evening at Cliff Keen Arena.

Obeime hit .341 on 44 attacks to pace Duke's (4-1) offense, which totaled 61 kills to Michigan's 54. Obeime's 21 kills surpassed her previous career high (19) set in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament against the College of Charleston. In addition, Obeime topped 1,000 career kills to become the 22nd Blue Devil to reach that milestone.

“Jeme did phenomenal offensively,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “She definitely kept us in quite a few spots. She's just doing a great job of using the block and moving the ball around. She's just so fast. She was really effective for us.”

Ultimately, errors proved costly for the Blue Devils. Duke hit a season-low .222, totaling 24 errors on 167 attacks. The Blue Devils struggled from the service line and committed 20 service errors, including five in the final frame, compared to the Wolverines' 10.

“I thought we executed pretty well in set one and set four,” Nagel said. “I thought we made some really good plays and we blocked decently. Our serve receive was pretty good. We just killed ourselves with our serving, especially in set five. You just can't do that and be able to come out on top.”

Duke utilized a balanced offensive attack early as 12 of the Blue Devils' first 14 points came via kills. Michigan (3-1) led just once in the opening frame, 6-5, before kills from Obeime and junior Breanna Atkinson gave Duke a lead it would not relinquish. Michigan pulled within two at 21-19, but Duke closed the set without further damage and Obeime's fifth kill ended the frame, 25-21.

Neither team led by more than two points in a tightly contested second set. Duke eked ahead, 22-21, before the set turned on an Ally Davis and Abby Cole block. Davis came back with a kill, which Obeime countered with her eighth kill of the frame to again tie the score. Consecutive kills from Wolverine hitters Davis and Katherine Mahlke clinched the set, 25-23.

Michigan capitalized on the second-set momentum shift and carried the energy into the third frame. The Wolverines jumped out to a 5-1 lead and turned the early advantage into an eight-point cushion. Duke came no closer than five the rest of the game, which Michigan ultimately claimed, 25-16.

Duke showed its resilience down 13-9 in the fourth set. Freshman Cadie Bates got the serve and instigated a 7-0 Blue Devil run, capped by an Emily Sklar kill. Michigan answered with four points of its own to lead 20-18 late in the stanza. Obeime hammered back-to-back kills following a timeout to knot the score. Sophomore Chloe DiPasquale tallied two straight aces, the first two of her collegiate career, and a Wolverine error clinched the set for Duke, 25-22.

“Cadie Bates came in and served some great balls,” Nagel said. “That really helped us get a lead going. Our serve receive with Emily [Sklar] and Sasha [Karelov] was really steady during that set. It allowed us to get our offense going and get the ball to our middles quite a bit. That opened up our outsides more, too.”

Errors plagued the Blue Devils in the fifth set. Ten of Michigan's 15 points in the frame came off of Duke miscues and the Wolverines sealed the victory, 15-10.

Obeime was one of four Blue Devils to reach double-digit kills on the night. Atkinson and sophomore Alyse Whitaker both totaled 11 kills, while sophomore Jordan Tucker added 10. Duke posted a season-high 10.5 blocks, including six from Whitaker.

Setter Kelsey Williams topped the 50-assist plateau for the third time in her career, dishing out 53. The Pleasanton, Calif., native also added a career-high five blocks to go along with eight digs and a pair of aces.

After picking up a 35 digs Tuesday, libero Sasha Karelov nearly topped 30 digs again Saturday as the Raleigh, N.C. led all players with 27.

MSU's Cole put down a team-high 16 kills, followed closely by Caroline Knop's 14 and Davis' 11.

Duke has a short break before taking the court again Saturday, Sept. 6. The Blue Devils face No. 14 Michigan at 5 p.m., in East Lansing, Mich.

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