Duke Sweeps Pitt on the Road, Records 20th Win

Sunday, November 13

Pittsburgh, Pa.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Pittsburgh

Volleyball Heads to Boston College, Syracuse

Duke Sweeps Pitt on the Road, Records 20th Win

11/13/2016 3:35:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score (PDF)

By: Duke Sports Information

PITTSBURGH – Duke swept its 10th opponent of the season, downing Pitt 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-23) Sunday afternoon to notch its sixth consecutive victory and 20th of the season.

Duke (20-6, 14-2 ACC) middle blockers Jordan Tucker and Leah Meyer keyed the Blue Devils, combining for 27 kills and 11 blocks in the straight set win. The Duke duo also committed one lone error on 45 attempts to post a scorching .578 hitting percentage. Tucker downed 13 kills to top 10 kills for the 20th time this season while Meyer contributed a team-best 14.

“Pitt is a really well balanced team and hard to defend,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “We helped ourselves by controlling the ball and moving the offense around. Getting our middles involved is a big part of that.”

Duke outblocked Pitt (20-8, 11-5 ACC) 12.0 to 8.0, led by Tucker's six stops. Meyer and freshman rightside hitter Samantha Amos added five each. Senior libero Sasha Karelov picked up a match-high 19 digs to anchor the back row.

Freshman setter Cindy Marina totaled 37 assists, six digs, three kills, two block and two service aces to fill the stat sheet. Marina had both Duke aces in the match. The Blue Devils also committed just one service error compared to seven by Pitt.

“We didn't hurt ourselves with the serve,” Nagel said. “This was a really tight match all the way. We were able to do a good job to minimize our unforced errors.”

Duke has now reached 20 wins for the 27th time in the program's 46-year history. The Blue Devils have surpassed 20 wins in 10 of the past 12 seasons.

“[I'm] thrilled this team achieved that milestone,” Nagel said. “This is a long season, but this team continues to work hard to get better. They come to practice every day ready to work and support each other.”

Pitt rocketed to an 18-12 first set lead before the Blue Devils countered down the stretch. Duke mounted a 13-4 rally to win the opening frame, 25-22. Duke middles led the way as Tucker downed five kills and Meyer added four. After a Pitt attack error put Duke ahead, 22-21, Meyer added a kill and two blocks to seal the win.

Duke held off a late Pitt charge in the second set, claiming the stanza, 28-26. The Blue Devils led 23-21 following a Tucker kill, but the Panthers answered with a 3-1 stretch to knot the score at 24-all. Pitt fought off two Blue Devil set points before a Samantha Amos kill couple with a Jamie Stivers and Tucker block finalized the victory.

The third set was once again a closely contested affair and Duke ultimately pulled out the 25-23 decision. Errors proved costly for Pitt down the stretch as the Panthers committed two service errors and one attack error to award Duke the match's final three points after a back-and-forth stanza.

Duke returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium for its final two home matches this coming weekend. The Blue Devils play host to Florida State at 6:30 p.m., Friday Nov. 18 before welcoming Miami at 1 p.m., Sunday, Nov 20.

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