No. 19 Duke Rallies Past No. 14 Michigan State, 3-2

Saturday, September 6

East Lansing, Mich.

5:00 PM

Duke University

Michigan State

Middles Tucker & Meyer Guide Duke Past UMKC

No. 19 Duke Rallies Past No. 14 Michigan State, 3-2

9/6/2014 8:36:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

EAST LANSING, Mich. – In a tug-of-war battle between top 20 teams, No. 19 Duke rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat No. 14 Michigan State in five sets (12-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 15-10) Saturday evening at MSU's Jenison Field House.

A total team effort, Duke (5-1) received key contributions from 11 different players. On offense, senior outside hitter Jeme Obeime knocked down a team-high 12 kills. Junior outside hitter Emily Sklar and sophomore middle blocker Jordan Tucker added 10 kills apiece, while sophomore Alyse Whitaker and freshman Cadie Bates added nine and seven, respectively.

Setter Kelsey Williams came up a dig shy of the double-double, totaling 45 assists and nine digs. Libero Sasha Karelov amassed 20-plus digs for the third-consecutive match as the sophomore came up with 22.

“This match strengthened our team,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “What was really incredible was we could make adjustments in our lineup and put other players in. I just let my team know that I had full confidence in everyone. People had to go in there and get to work in difficult situations, and they did a tremendous job.”

Duke stumbled to start the first set, which Michigan State (4-2) won, 25-12. The Spartans picked up three blocks over their first nine points to set the tone. The Blue Devils committed 10 attack errors in the frame and hit -.133 to the Spartans' .381.

“We certainly came out tight,” Nagel said. “It was an emotional loss last night [at Michigan] and I wasn't surprised we were tight. We were tight on serve receive. We were getting blocked. We gave opportunities to other people and they stepped up to the plate and helped relax everybody.”

Michigan State appeared to be in complete control, winning six of the first seven points to start the second set, and the Spartans took a 16-9 advantage by the stanza's midway point. With freshman Nicole Elattrache at the service line, Duke came storming back. The Blue Devils won six straight points, highlighted by two Elattrache aces. Kills from Obeime and Sklar bookended a Spartan error to tie the frame, 20-20. A rattled Michigan State made four errors down the stretch as Duke picked up the set, 25-22.

Duke bolted out to a 10-3 start and led 17-10 before momentum swung back in Michigan State's favor to end the third set. Michigan State won 15 of the frame's final 20 points, knocking down nine kills in that span, to capture the frame, 25-23.

Michigan State had Duke on the ropes in the fourth set, building a 14-8 margin to force a Duke timeout. The Blue Devils again showed their resilience, rebounding to tie the frame 17-all on Sklar's ace. Down 23-21, Karelov stepped to the service line and Duke won the final four points of the match, including an Obeime kill and three Whitaker blocks.

“By that fourth set, we tried to serve where we could to take them out of what they wanted to do,” Nagel added. “We had some tough serves at that time. We were able to get stops because [Michigan State wasn't] doing what they wanted to do. Then we were able to transition.”

The Blue Devils hit .312 to the Spartans .083 in the fifth and final frame. Michigan State committed six errors compared to Duke's one helping the Blue Devils build an early advantage. Sophomore Jordan Tucker put down the kill, her 10th of the night, to seal the come-from-behind Duke win.

Allyssah Fittererer paced the Spartans with 14 kills, while Kori Moster added a match-high 24 digs.

Duke takes to the road again this coming weekend as the Blue Devils head west to face Stanford, Santa Clara and Penn.

#GoDuke