Duke Drops Pitt in Four

Friday, October 7

Durham, N.C.

6:30 PM

Duke University

Pittsburgh

10/7/2016 9:58:00 PM | Volleyball

Jolene Nagel Postgame: Duke 3, Pitt 1 Jordan Tucker Postgame: Duke 3, Pitt 1 Jamie Stivers Postgame: Duke 3, Pitt 1 VB Highlights: Duke 3, Pitt 1 Tucker Block Highlights: Duke 3, Pitt1 Photo Gallery Season Stats Box Score (HTML)Box Score (PDF)

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke handed Pitt its first conference setback, knocking off the Panthers 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20) Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker amassed a career-high 10 blocks to help the Duke (10-5, 4-1 ACC) defense limit Pitt (13-4, 4-1 ACC) to a .201 hitting percentage. Tucker also added seven kills and two service aces.

“There was a lot going on,” said Tucker. “We did a lot of studying for Pittsburgh so I had a little idea what was coming at me. They're a really efficient team and mix it up a lot. I was just trying to not get lost in the mayhem. Luckily I was in the right spot at the right time and got some balls on the floor.”

After a slow offensive start, Duke found its rhythm the final two frames. After hitting .081 the first two sets, the Blue Devils posted a .397 combined clip over the third and fourth stanzas to close out the victory.

Offensively, freshman Jamie Stivers led the Blue Devils with 12 kills and finished a dig shy of a double-double. Sophomore Leah Meyer dropped nine kills and totaled six blocks, while sophomore Jessi Bartholomew contributed eight kills without committing an attack error.

On defense, libero Sasha Karelov picked up a match-high 21 digs and defensive specialist Nicole Elattrache added 14.

“Pitt is a really good team,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “Pitt is very efficient and I was really excited the way our team was aggressive with our serve, played pretty steady and really played well in sets three and four.”

Duke set the tone with 4.0 blocks in its first seven points and won the first set, 25-18, after totaling 8.5 blocks in the frame. Tucker led the way with five, while Samantha Amos and Meyer contributed three each. Duke's defense allowed the Blue Devils to build a six-point cushion they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Pitt put together its best effort of the night to win the second, 25-20. The Panthers pounded 14 kills on .375 hitting, eventually evening the overall score, 1-1. Stephanie Williams totaled six of her match-high 19 kills in the second. In contrast, Duke registered a match-low .056 clip in the frame.

Duke found its groove in the remaining two sets, knocking down 16 kills in each while hitting close to .400. Pitt opened the third with a 5-1 advantage before the Blue Devils rallied to even the score, 9-9. A Stivers kill capped a 5-2 Duke spurt, giving the Blue Devils a 16-13 lead. Pitt narrowed the margin to 17-16, but Stivers answered again with a kill. Duke then closed out the frame with a 7-1 stretch.

“Really excited that our team could eliminate errors at a key time and be able to just do it one point at a time,” Nagel added.

The Blue Devils committed one lone attack error in the fourth and final stanza. Duke used a 10-5 run midway through to take command, 18-13. Pitt clawed back to within two, 20-18, after Williams' 18th kill, but Duke answered with a block the following point. Tucker's second ace brought match point and setter Cindy Marina slipped in her third kill to seal the victory.

Marina finished the match with 37 assists, three aces, four blocks and four digs.

Duke returns to action Sunday, Oct. 9, playing host to Virginia Tech at 1 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

#GoDuke