Middle blockers Tucker, Meyer spark Duke volleyball in ACC opener

After showing their youth early in their ACC opener, the Blue Devils stepped up in the third and fourth sets led by their veterans to notch their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Duke overcame a second-set loss to knock off Wake Forest 3-1 (25-15, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21) Wednesday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium led by its two middle blockers stars—senior captain Jordan Tucker and sophomore Leah Meyer. The duo combined for 26 of the Blue Devils’ 47 kills to lead the way in one of Duke’s most efficient performances of the season.

The Blue Devils had a season-high 15 blocks and tied a season high with nine aces to put away the Demon Deacons and continue the momentum they built last week to finish nonconference play. 

“It was interesting just trying to explain to everybody what ACC means to us, and how it’s so much different. It’s not just another game,” Tucker said. “Everybody’s going for everybody, and we want to be on top. It was great to come out and start this way.”

Tucker had five of Duke’s services aces—freshman outside hitter Jamie Stivers had the other four—and the Blue Devils (7-4, 1-0 in the ACC) took advantage of seven Demon Deacon errors to dominate the first set. Wake Forest (4-8, 0-1) was unable to end its eight-game losing streak to Duke, posting a .059 hitting percentage to start the match.

However, the Demon Deacons took control of the second set, posting a match-high 17 kills aided by five Blue Devil errors to knot Wednesday’s contest at a set apiece with a 25-19 set win. Freshman Caroline Rassenfoss led the way for Wake Forest, posting 20 kills during the contest to give her team life on the road. Kylie Long and Katie Moore also finished with double-digit kills for the Demon Deacons.

“In the second set, we really struggled on the block timing and just setting up right,” Tucker said. “That was something the rest of the game we were like, ‘We have got to figure this out, we have got to get this done,’ and we were able to.” 

For the second straight game, Duke answered an opponent’s run by eliminating its errors. Coming off a five-set win against UNC-Wilmington, the Blue Devils erupted in the third set, posting eight blocks to stymie Wake Forest’s offense. Three Duke players—freshman setter Cindy Marina, Meyer and Tucker—posted hitting percentages better than .400 in the frame to put the Blue Devils back on top. 

Although Duke fell behind 13-9 in the fourth set, Tucker sparked a 9-0 run to set up the Blue Devil victory. The Prairie Village, Kan., native’s five aces were a career high, and she finished the contest with a .538 hitting percentage and no errors on the day.

Defensive specialists Nicole Elattrache, Sasha Karelov and Stivers also contributed to the offense by contributing at least digs apiece.

“Jordan did a great job,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “She’s really doing a nice job as a senior, a captain, taking advantage of the opportunity with her serve, and being able to play defense there. That’s really exciting to see.”

The Blue Devils will look to continue their strong play Saturday at 7 p.m. when they take on Virginia on the road in Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers (3-9) have struggled so far this season, but like the Demon Deacons will be hungry to end Duke’s winning streak if the Blue Devils are not consistent throughout the match. 

“We just want to keep this going and be undefeated in the ACC for as long as we can. Really we just want to play hard—we want to get better. And we’re committed to that,” Tucker said. “We’re excited to travel, and excited to go down to Virginia. We’re ready.”