Devil's in the details: Gracie Johnson reaches key volleyball milestone, field hockey and men's soccer start postseason play

Graduate Gracie Johnson has been a force for Duke this season.
Graduate Gracie Johnson has been a force for Duke this season.

They say the devil is in the details. But in Durham, the Blue Devils are in the details—and numbers:

1000 

On Friday night, graduate student Gracie Johnson became Duke volleyball’s 13th player to collect 1000 kills and 1000 digs, as her incredible performance helped the Blue Devils beat Wake Forest in a nail-biting 3-1 match. The win moves Duke to 16-8 overall and 7-6 in the ACC as it nears the end of the regular season. 

Johnson tallied 20 kills in Friday’s game alone, as well as 14 digs, four aces and two blocks. This was her 18th contest in which she tallied at least 20 kills during her career. The 6-foot outside hitter has managed to meet the 1000-kill mark through racking up more than 200 per season since her freshman year at Duke. She is an impressive player who has made her mark on Blue Devil volleyball history. 

2 

A lot can change in two minutes. Duke men’s soccer had a strong start to the ACC tournament, with a goal from Antino Lopez just more than two minutes into the first half of its first-round playoff game against Boston College Wednesday. The Blue Devils went up 3-0 during the second half with goals from Ulfur Bjornsson and Ruben Mesalles. But then, with just over ten minutes remaining, Duke lost its clean sheet as it conceded two goals within the span of two minutes. Fighting against the Eagles’ momentum, the Blue Devils finished with the win, moving on to the second round of the tournament.

No. 5-seed Duke will face No. 4-seed Clemson on the road again. The Tigers handed the Blue Devils an upsetting 2-0 loss in September, just one of Duke’s three losses of the regular season. Despite the previous loss, both teams are competitive candidates for the 2023 ACC title, and the Blue Devils have a promising chance in continuing to the championship.

0 

After having its first ACC title a mere one win away, Duke field hockey fell short to powerhouse North Carolina Friday night, conceding two goals and scoring zero. The Blue Devils had a similar result last week, when they lost the cross-town rivalry match 2-1 for their sole ACC loss. With an extremely impressive season, finishing 5-1 in the ACC and being ranked as high as No. 2 nationally, Duke’s loss was disappointing, but the future of Blue Devil field hockey is bright. With only four seniors and three graduate students on a 25 player roster, the 2024 ACC championship seems similarly attainable if all goes Duke’s way. 

106 

In its exhibition match Saturday afternoon, Duke women’s basketball defeated Wingate by a whopping score of 106-33. The Blue Devil season is off to a strong start as they shot 51 percent overall, with five players scoring double digits. Freshman Jadyn Donovan led with 20 points and nine rebounds, followed by junior Reigan Richardson with 17 points. Strong performances were seen from both starters and players coming in off of the bench, including from graduate student Camilla Emsbo who came in and tallied 15 points and five boards. Duke will face Richmond on Monday and will see if its impressive preseason stats will carry into the regular season. 

Discussion

Share and discuss “Devil's in the details: Gracie Johnson reaches key volleyball milestone, field hockey and men's soccer start postseason play” on social media.