Duke Claims Road Sweep at Louisville

Sunday, October 2

Louisville, Ky.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Louisville

Duke Claims Road Sweep at Louisville

10/2/2016 3:16:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score (PDF)

By: Duke Sports Information

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Middle blockers Jordan Tucker and Leah Meyer totaled a combined 21 kills while hitting .475 to lead Duke past Louisville 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-21) in ACC action Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.

Both Tucker and Meyer had 20 attempts and committed just a lone error apiece, finishing with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. At the net, Meyer led all players with five blocks while Tucker added three in the winning effort.

“Our defense did a good job of getting the ball up so we could run our offense,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “Our line diggers were doing a great job of bringing some balls up. That helped us get the ball to [Meyer and Tucker]. Those two are also doing a great job of making themselves available.”

Duke (9-5, 3-1 ACC) also received 11 kills from freshman outside hitter Jamie Stivers to go along with five digs, two blocks and a service ace. Rookie setter Cindy Marina notched her team-leading ninth double-double, dishing out 38 assists and accumulating 11 digs.

Louisville (5-9, 0-4 ACC) struggled with attach errors throughout the match in part due to Duke's 9.0 blocks. The Cardinals hit just .069 on the day after committing 26 attack errors to 34 kills. Tess Clark and Bennett had 10 kills each to pace the Cardinals.

“We're really thrilled to get a win on the road in the ACC,” Nagel said. “We've had our challenges along the way with injuries, but they're working together in their preparation and communication. This team continues to take steps to get better.”

The Cardinals had no answer in the first set for Tucker, who hammered eight kills on 10 attacks without an error. Louisville struggled with attack errors, committing 10 for the frame to allow Duke to build a sizeable lead before capturing it, 25-18.

Duke took command of the second with a 12-2 run that transformed a six-all tie into a 16-8 Blue Devil advantage. Duke hit .357 for the frame, compared to Louisville's .000 clip, to claim a decisive 25-12 decision.

In the third, the Blue Devils faced their largest deficit of the match, 9-6, before responding with a 3-0 spurt. Those three points instigated an 8-3 Blue Devil rally, resulting in 14-12 lead. Duke remained in control the remainder of the stanza to ultimately win, 25-21.

Libero Sasha Karelov added a match-high 15 digs, bringing her weekend total to 59 over Duke's two matches.

Following three-straight road matches, Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium this coming weekend for matches against ACC foes Pitt (Oct. 7) and Virginia Tech (Oct. 9).

#GoDuke