Blue Devils Top Irish, Win Fourth Straight

Sunday, November 6

Durham, N.C.

12:00 PM

Duke University

Notre Dame

Karelov Ranks Among League?s Top Defensive Players

Blue Devils Top Irish, Win Fourth Straight

11/6/2016 3:28:00 PM | Volleyball

Karelov Postgame: Duke 3, Notre Dame 1 Nagel Postgame: Duke 3, Notre Dame 1 Tucker Postgame: Duke 3, Notre Dame 1 Amos Postgame: Duke 3, Notre Dame 1 VB Highlights: Duke 3, Notre Dame 1 Box Score (HTML)Box Score (PDF)

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke dispatched Notre Dame Sunday afternoon in Cameron Indoor Stadium, winning its fourth straight match with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 24-26, 25-11) victory over the Fighting Irish.

Four Blue Devils – Samantha Amos, Jordan Tucker, Cadie Bates and Leah Meyer – put down double-digit kills, while the Blue Devils' defense held the Irish to a .103 hitting percentage. Duke (18-6, 12-2 ACC) totaled 104 digs and did not allow a Notre Dame (19-7, 10-4 ACC) player to reach double-digit kills.

After knocking down a career-high 15 kills Friday, Amos bettered that effort with a 16-kill performance Sunday. Amos had at least three kills in each set while also contributing three blocks.

“I saw us come together as a team,” said Amos. “Defense definitely helped me more with the shots. I had some out-of-system sets from Sasha [Karelov]. I just knew where the court was; she screamed at me and it happened to work out that way.”

Tucker matched the freshman rightside hitter with a game-high 16 kills as well. Tucker posted a stellar .424 clip, raising her team-best season hitting percentage to .332.

“There was a lot going on,” said Tucker. “We had a lot of fans here which is always fun. Really loud out there. My defense made my job very easy, which I appreciate a lot. [Notre Dame was] tipping a little bit so Sasha [Karelov] was able to get in there and get that up and we were able to run fast, which is what I would prefer to do. It worked out today for sure.”

In addition to Tucker and Amos, Bates contributed a season-high 12 kills and Meyer dropped in 10 to go along with a team-high five blocks.

Freshman setter Cindy Marina orchestrated the balanced attack, surpassing 40 assists for the eight consecutive match. Marina totaled 52 assists and 18 digs, good for her team-leading 14th double-double.

“Cindy's a very talented setter and very special freshman,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “She thinks the game well and she also can get to balls really fast. She has developed and gotten to know her hitters. We've been able to ask our hitters to change up some things and Cindy is able to mix the offense up.”

Marina was one of five Blue Devils with 10-plus digs to aid in a stellar defensive effort. Libero Sasha Karelov reached 20 digs for the 13th time this season, picking up 23. Defensive specialist Nicole Elattrache added 18, outside hitter Jamie Stivers 17 and defensive specialist Chloe DiPasquale 14.

“We knew a lot of [Notre Dame's] tendencies and that made our jobs easier,” said Karelov. “We were on toes. We knew the middles were going to tip a lot. We knew No. 12 was going to get the ball a lot. I think we did a good job of shutting them down with the block at first then the back row defense could do their job.”

Duke dominated the first set, 25-18. The Blue Devils hit .455 to the Irish's .176 clip and never trailed in the stanza. Duke's middles – Tucker and Meyer – were especially effective, contributing five kills each. The Blue Devils then finished off the frame with two Amos' kills.

The Blue Devils had little trouble with the Irish in the second, securing a 25-15 outcome. Duke trailed just once, 1-0, before opening a 14-7 lead that continued to grow down the stretch. Up 23-15, Meyer laid down back-to-back kills to seal the victory.

Duke began the third up 6-1 and led 21-17 late before the Irish outscored the Blue Devils 9-3 to close out the frame, winning it 26-24. Attack errors proved to the difference as Duke committed 11 in the stanza, despite totaling 19 kills to Notre Dame's 13.

Down 6-4 in the fourth, Duke turned the momentum with an 11-3 stretch that ultimately culminated in the Blue Devils' 25-11 victory. Bates had three-straight kills to instigate the rally. Duke did not surrender the comfortable margin, ending the match on a 10-2 run. Amos and Bates alternated kills over the final four points to complete the Duke win.

“Really excited for our team,” Nagel added. “This team has developed over time. I'm really proud of their effort today and their preparation and how they hung tough when they could've cracked.”

Duke hits the road for Virginia Tech and Pitt this coming weekend, taking on the Hokies Friday, Nov. 11 at 6:15 p.m., before facing the Panthers Sunday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m.

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