The Blue Devils kept the ball rolling—by blocking it.
After finishing off an undefeated weekend at the Duke Invitational in which they lost just one set in three games, Duke continued their winning ways Friday night by knocking off Indiana in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18 and 25-18 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Opening the first set with 4.5 blocks, the Blue Devils finished with an overall advantage of 7.5-1 on the evening.
“They really wanted to block for points, and I think they did that in the first set and they continued to do that, so I was really excited about that,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “It’s really great to be able to come out and have this one tonight, to see the rewards of some of the things we’ve been working so hard on.”
Strong blocking and defensive play were the keys to knocking off the Hoosiers, who came into the game with a .301 hitting percentage, good for 12th in the nation. Duke (8-2), led by Jordan Tucker with two blocks and Elizabeth Campbell and Emily Sklar with 1.5 each, held Indiana to a lowly .081 hitting percentage—one of its worst performances of the season.
The match was tight early on, with Indiana (8-2) holding a slim lead of 13-12 halfway through the first set. The Blue Devils (9-2) responded by winning the next five points and closing out the set with a 12-4 run.
Duke never looked back.
Jumping out to early leads of 11-2 in the second set and 8-1 in the third, the Blue Devils took the final two sets with ease and never had to fend off any serious comebacks from the Hoosiers.
“By having those leads we were able to afford some of the mistakes that we had made, but the biggest part was just us having the passion to win and dominating our home court,” sophomore Elizabeth Campbell said.
Campbell finished with 13 kills and a .478 hitting percentage—her highest of the season. Fellow sophomore Emily Sklar continued her strong offensive season, leading the team with 15 kills.
“We’re reaping the benefits of them having a year of experience under their belts and having a better understanding of what this level of volleyball is all about,” Nagel said.
Senior Ali McCurdy added 11 digs to bring her season total to a team-high 133. Still second in Duke's record books, she is now 122 digs shy of tying the school career record of 2,200, set by Jenny Shull.
Duke will need another complete effort like Friday night’s when they put the winning streak on the line Saturday night hosting No. 16 Illinois. The Blue Devils are no strangers to ranked opponents, as their only two defeats have come at the hands of two top ten teams, No. 4 Florida and No. 9 Minnesota.
Duke is well aware of the challenge that awaits them, but for now Nagel said she is happy to let them appreciate one of their strongest victories of the year.
“We’re looking at one match at a time," Nagel said. "Right now I want to let them know how great they did, how proud of them I am. I’ll tell them to get some rest and come loaded tomorrow ready to go."
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