Unable to go home for Fall Break, the Blue Devils traveled to Atlanta and Clemson, S.C., where they split a weekend ACC series Friday and Saturday.
The Blue Devils (10-5, 1-2 in the ACC) started the weekend matches strong, taking the first set 25-21 over Georgia Tech (11-4, 2-1) before dropping the next set, 25-22. Duke rallied in the third, winning 25-22, but fell short in the fourth 25-20, forcing the match into a tiebreaking fifth set.
After ample preparation for pressure situations, the Blue Devils were able to capitalize in the tiebreaking set, in which they had faltered against Wake Forest Sept. 30. Duke finished off the Yellow Jackets, winning the fifth set 18-16 and taking the match.
Junior outside hitter Rachael Moss led Duke with 18 kills, and senior middle blocker Jourdan Norman added 16. Freshman setter Kellie Catanach led the Blue Devils with 55 of the 67 total team assists.
But one night after extending their winning streak to three matches, the Blue Devils saw their string snapped by Clemson (13-5, 5-2).
Duke took an early lead Saturday, winning the first set 25-16, but struggled for the rest of the match, losing the next three sets and failing to score more than 20 points in any of them.
The Blue Devils had a gaudy hitting percentage of .567 in the first set with 19 kills and only two errors. But a significant increase in team hitting errors resulted in offensive problems in the next three sets. Duke managed just a .093 hitting percentage in the final three, posting only 32 kills and 23 errors.
The Blue Devils take the court this Friday at 7 p.m. against conference opponent Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. and again Saturday at 6 p.m. against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
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