Sportswrap: Football wins big, volleyball sweeps in Duke Invitational

Duke football defeated Temple 30-0 in its home opener Friday.
Duke football defeated Temple 30-0 in its home opener Friday.

Sportswrap is your one-stop shop for everything Duke athletics, where we’ll recap how each of Duke’s sports currently in competition performed over the last week and give a brief look ahead. With the fall season in full swing, here’s our recap for the week of Aug. 29-Sept. 4.

Football

In front of a packed house and fresh off the buzz a new football season provides, Duke stormed to a 30-0 dismantling of Temple at Wallace Wade Stadium Friday evening. Headlined by a five-star performance from sophomore quarterback Riley Leonard, the Blue Devils (1-0) logged 500 yards of total offense—of which Leonard assumed 392—and shut out an FBS opponent at home for the first time since 1978. Running back Jaylen Coleman, receiver Sahmir Hagans and quarterback-turned-receiver Jordan Moore combined for the three touchdowns in the game, with kicker Charlie Ham’s three field goals good for an extra nine points. Up next is a visit to Northwestern at 12 p.m. Saturday. -Andrew Long

Volleyball

The Blue Devils swept the competition at the weekend's Duke Invitational, using their fast offense and strong team dynamics to best East Tennessee State, Northeastern and Eastern Carolina. Friday’s match against ETSU featured a large home crowd, in which Duke (4-2) debuted its “Hate Won’t Live Here” warmup shirts and kneeled for a moment of silence before the match. Sophomore middle blocker Rylie Kadel had a standout weekend, using her ability to track the ball and adjust her blocking tempo to rack up 15 blocks for the Blue Devils. The turnaround time isn’t long for Duke—it returns to action at Elon Tuesday at 6 p.m. -Leah Boyd

Women's soccer

It was a mixed week for the Blue Devils, as they solidified themselves as a top-three team in the country but not the No. 1 team. Coming into the week at No. 2, they started with a 2-1 Thursday loss to the third-ranked Bruins, who will assuredly be atop the rankings now after beating No. 1 North Carolina as well. Duke (5-1) rebounded with a 3-1 win at No. 6 TCU Sunday. The team’s front line and midfield look stellar, but the defensive communication still must be improved. The Blue Devils next meet the Tar Heels at home Thursday. -Em Adler

Men's soccer

In the early kickoff of Thursday evening’s soccer slate at Koskinen Stadium, the 17th-ranked Blue Devils were made to work for a 3-0 victory against a resilient Michigan team. Goals from freshman Axel Gudbjornsson and juniors Peter Stroud and Luke Thomas put the game to bed in the end for Duke (3-0), with Stroud’s performance especially commanding. Gudbjornsson, despite being a defender, logged his second goal in as many games but will be unavailable for Duke’s Saturday visit to Louisville after receiving a red card in the second half of Thursday’s game. -Long

Field hockey

After a 2-0 start, No. 18 Duke lost two matches at the ACC/Big 10 Cup in Newton, Mass., against No. 1 Northwestern and No. 4 Maryland this weekend. Duke (2-2) put up a strong fight against Northwestern but remained scoreless throughout the game. Despite a competitive first half led by Hamsch, the Wildcats took control in the second half by outshooting the Blue Devils 10-4 and winning 2-0. Sunday, Duke jumped out to a 1-0 start against the Terrapins before Maryland scored six unanswered goals. Senior forward Hannah Miller scored her first goal of the season in the fourth quarter, but the Terrapins cruised to a dominant 7-2 victory. Regardless of the weekend's outcomes, the tough competition gives Duke the necessary experience heading into a Friday matchup against Appalachian State. -Suresh Kannoth

Cross country

In Friday’s Elon Opener, Duke took first place on the men’s side for the second consecutive season and took home second place on the women’s side. As was to be expected, the Blue Devils hit the course in nearby Elon, N.C., without many of their veteran runners, giving the team’s other talent a chance to shine. The men, led by first-place finisher Rory Cavan nearly completed a one-through-five sweep, taking each of the first six individual placements with the exception of fourth. In the women’s race, the Blue Devil trio of graduate student Karly Forker, freshman Anna Corcoran and senior Caroline Howley finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. Duke now gets two weeks of rest before traveling to Charlottesville, Va., for the Virginia Invitational Sept. 16. -Jonathan Levitan

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