Tucker Reaches 1,000 Kills, Duke Downs Virginia 3-1

Saturday, October 15

Durham, N.C.

6:30 PM

Duke University

Virginia

Blue Devils Open 2016 with Duke Invitational

Tucker Reaches 1,000 Kills, Duke Downs Virginia 3-1

10/15/2016 10:22:00 PM | Volleyball

Jolene Nagel Postgame: Duke 3, Virginia 1 Jordan Tucker Highlights: Duke 3, Virginia 1 Jordan Tucker Postgame: Duke 3, Virginia 1 Cindy Marina Postgame: Duke 3, Virginia 1 Season Stats Box Score (HTML)Box Score (PDF)

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker became the 24th Blue Devil to reach 1,000 career kills to help Duke defeat Virginia 3-1 (25-20, 28-30, 25-23, 25-20) Saturday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Tucker entered the match with 992 career kills and notched her 1,000th of her standout career in the second set. The Prairie Village, Kan., native finished the night with a match-high 17 kills while hitting .317. Tucker has knocked down 10 or more kills 13 times this season and topped .300 hitting in eight matches.

“I had no idea how close I was to it,” said Tucker. “It's something I've seen past teammates do. To put my name on that list is awesome. It was a really cool moment. It hasn't really sunk in yet what it really means.”

“[Jordan's] special,” added head coach Jolene Nagel. “There's no doubt about it. She works really hard out there. She's a captain and she's really brought her game every single night. That's not always an easy thing to do. Really excited for her to reach this accomplishment.”

Freshman rightside hitter Samantha Amos matched her career-high with 14 kills to join Tucker in double-digit kills. Classmate Cindy Marina came up a kill shy of a triple-double as the rookie setter registered a career-high nine kills on 15 swings to go along with 48 assists and 16 digs.

“Cindy's a talented setter,” Nagel said. “She makes good decisions and has the ability to do some great things to get to balls as well. She does a great job and makes the defense really think about things.”

Duke's defense was solid yet again, limiting Virginia (4-16, 1-7 ACC) to a .174 hitting percentage. The Blue Devils have now held 11 of their 18 opponents to a hitting percentage under .200 in 2016. Senior libero Sasha Karelov surpassed 20 digs for the second straight match, amassing a match-high 31. Sophomore middle blocker Leah Meyer added eight blocks to aid the Blue Devil cause.

Duke never trailed in a 25-20 opening set, hitting .302 as a team. Junior Anna Kropf notched six of her nine kills in the stanza while Tucker added five. The Blue Devils led by as many as seven before a UVA attack error sealed the set.

Up five points in the second, Duke saw its advantage slip away late following an 8-3 Virginia spurt. In a set that saw 15 ties and six lead changes, the Cavaliers fought off five Blue Devil set points before a Duke attack error put UVA up 29-28. Virginia received a kill to conclude the frame and tie the match, 1-1.

The Blue Devils answered with a 25-23 third set. UVA again made a late run to narrow the margin, but Duke had an answer this time around. An attack error made it a 23-22 game before Amos tallied the kill for set point. Virginia answered with a kill prior to Tucker finishing it off with her fourth kill of the set.

Up 17-5 in the fourth, Duke came out of timeout with another Tucker kill to spark a 4-1 rally. Amos' 14th kill brought match point and a Nicole Elattrache service ace completed the victory.

“Really excited to get this win,” Nagel added. “It was hard fought. Virginia did a really good job of playing defense and challenging us. We really had to work. It's wonderful to get an ACC win.”

Next up, Duke plays host to Clemson and Georgia Tech this coming weekend in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils welcome the Tigers Friday, Oct. 21 before taking on the Yellow Jackets Sunday, Oct. 23.

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