Sklar, dominant offense spark Duke volleyball's sweep of Wake Forest

Despite an intense second set, Duke’s balanced offense proved too fearsome for a competitive Wake Forest rotation Friday night on Halloween.

The three-set sweep (25-18, 25-23, 25-17) of the Demon Deacons at Cameron Indoor Stadium was the No. 19 Blue Devils’ 12th win in their last 13 contests. The victory was a team effort, but Duke was led by a double-double from outside hitter Emily Sklar, who had 17 kills and 10 digs.

The junior from San Jose, Calif., also found help from everybody in her offensive line, with fellow outside hitters Breanna Atkinson and Jeme Obeime registering seven kills apiece. Middle blocker Alyse Whitaker mirrored both of them, pouring 14 kills of her own into Wake Forest’s defense to allow the Blue Devils to cruise to victory.

“Everyone did pretty well,” Sklar said. “Alyse had some good hits, [and Atkinson] had some good hits. [Atkinson] also had some amazing blocks. I don’t know if anyone saw, but one of [Atkinson’s] blocks right into a girl’s face actually gave her a bloody nose.”

The scary power of Sklar and her teammates was evident early and often. In the first set, despite a few early errors, Duke (17-4, 9-1 in the ACC) found its momentum quickly. Facing a 6-3 deficit, the Blue Devils found their groove behind six early digs and an ace from freshman Nicole Elattrache that allowed for several kills from Whitaker and Sklar. Duke rattled off seven points in a row, marking the only lead change of the set, to force a Demon Deacon timeout.

Wake Forest (12-12, 2-8) tied the score at 11 after scoring five of the first six out of the timeout, but then setter Kelsey Williams—who assisted her teammates 14 times in the first set—took over. With Williams serving, Duke rattled off three points in a row, and then stretched that lead to 21-17, forcing another Wake Forest timeout.

The Blue Devils proceeded to win the set 25-18 after scoring four of the next five points, including a punctuating kill from Obeime. Although seven points seems like a sizable margin of victory, the set was closer than the scoreboard indicated. The set was characterized by a 25-dig Wake Forest defense that was desperate to stay in each point and a relentless Duke barrage that ultimately overwhelmed the Demon Deacons.

The second set was even more intense.

It seemed as though everybody contributed to Duke’s eventual 25-23 set victory, with the comeback fueled by kills from Whitaker, Sklar and Atkinson. A set point at 24-22 was defended once when Obeime spiked the ball into the net, but irrelevant after a Wake Forest error brought a sudden end to the set.

Although the highlight plays usually came from the thunderous smashes of Duke’s outside hitters, they were made possible by the sets from Williams. Her conference-leading 11.7 assists per set seemed modest after 14 assists in the first and 17 in the second helped lead the Blue Devils to victory. She added 12 more in the third and final set.

“Going into the third set, we maintained our aggressiveness,” Williams said. “We know to not let up.”

The third set seemed much faster than the first two. The rallies were quicker and Wake Forest’s points were notably fewer. Duke raced out to an early 10-2 lead and never looked back. Libero Sasha Karelov provided 10 digs in the set to ensure a decisive victory. Obeime, Sklar and Whitaker had four kills apiece in a well-rounded dismantling of the Demon Deacons.

The victory was the second Blue Devil sweep this season against Wake Forest after blanking the Demon Deacons on the road Oct. 12. Duke will look to continue its success in ACC play Sunday against Virginia Tech.