Miami sweeps Duke

For the first time in over two years, Duke fell to an ACC foe at home as Miami swept the Blue Devils 3-0 Thursday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Frustrated by a strong Hurricane defense, Duke (17-8, 11-5 in the ACC) failed to generate any sustained momentum throughout the course of the match. As the Hurricanes (22-3, 13-3) pulled to early leads in each of the three sets, the Blue Devils could not overcome a stagnant offensive attack, which recorded its lowest attack percentage since September 2010.

“Miami’s a good team, but we held ourselves back tonight,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We’ve got to make sure that we allow ourselves to compete and play hard, and I don’t feel like we did that tonight.”

The first set was marked by a strong service performance by Miami. Although Duke was able to keep the set competitive, the Hurricanes broke open a close set when they sent junior Lizzie Hale to the service line with a 15-11 lead. Hale served seven unanswered points to give Miami a 23-11 lead. Duke dropped two of its next three points to lose the first set 25-12.

“I feel like we needed to slow things down and do things one play at a time... so that confidence doesn’t escape us so quickly,” Nagel said.

In the second set, the Blue Devils once again were stifled by Hale’s service abilities. Up 7-6, Miami sent the Menlo Park, Calif. native to the line for the second time in the night. Scoring four straight points to put Duke down 11-6, the Hurricanes took a lead they would never relinquish. While the remainder of the set saw a slight improvement in kills and errors for Duke, it was not enough as it dropped the second set 25-16.

The third set picked up where the second left off. For the third time in the night, Miami jumped out to a quick lead through a strong defensive effort. The Hurricanes also launched a sustained service attack, this time from sophomore Taylor Hollins. Up 9-5, Hollins recorded a streak of five straight service points to put the Blue Devils down nine points. And for the third time in the match, Duke could do little to respond, falling 25-15 in the final set.

The Blue Devils have little time to regroup before facing No. 17 Florida State Sunday. The Seminoles are undefeated in ACC play and swept Duke earlier this season.