Despite dropping the first set, Duke’s fearless defense and unforgiving outside hitters prevailed against ACC frontrunner Florida State Thursday night.
The Blue Devils upset the No. 3 Seminoles in four sets (20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21) at Cameron Indoor Stadium to win its second game in a row and handing Florida State its first defeat of the season. Setter Kelsey Williams paced Duke with a double-double of 17 digs and 46 assists, many of which went to veteran outside hitters Emily Sklar and Jeme Obeime, who contributed 17 and 18 kills, respectively.
Three other Blue Devils recorded double-digit digs, with libero Sasha Karelov registering 14, defensive specialist Chloe DiPasquale diving for 10 and Sklar recording a double-double of her own with 12 digs to pair with her impressive barrage of spikes.
“When it’s such a close game, every point is worth so much more,” Sklar said. “A huge kill means just as much as a missed serve. We really focused in tonight to get the win.”
Although Duke (19-6, 11-3 in the ACC) came through when it counted most, it initially struggled to stay in the game. The vaunted Florida State offense was active early and often, landing 13 kills and two aces in the first set. The Blue Devils made life difficult on themselves by committing a fatal nine errors en route to a 20-25 loss in the opening frame.
Florida State (24-1, 12-1) would earn the first point of the match after a service error from Duke middle blocker Jordan Tucker, and the Seminoles never looked back as they climbed to an early 7-3 lead. Although Obeime helped her team tie the score at 13 behind four first-set kills, five late-set errors would prove too costly for Duke to survive.
“We had a slow start initially,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “While we did kind of get it together, what got us toward the end of that set was too many unforced errors.”
The second set was a different story entirely. Duke locked down defensively when a pair of unsung heroes—junior Christina Vucich and freshman Nicole Elattrache—combined for seven early digs. Despite Florida State using both of its timeouts, Duke established a solid lead at 16-10 behind 11 kills from Obeime and Sklar. Vucich and sophomore middle blocker Alyse Whitaker leaped for a emphatic block that sent the crowd of 1,567 into a frenzy for the first time.
“Christina really stepped up for us with [outside hitter Breanna Atkinson] being injured,” Sklar said. “It’s hard to come in toward the end or middle of the season and take on such a big role.”
The Seminoles responded with three kills, gave up a pair to the Blue Devils and then went on a 4-1 run to make the score 20-17. However, a Duke timeout helped to galvanize three consecutive points en route to a 24-19 set point. Obeime finished the set off with a thunderous kill to tie game at one set apiece.
The third set would prove both pivotal and exhausting. Fifteen ties and five lead changes produced a roller coaster of momentum as both sides vied for the upper hand. Obeime, Whitaker, Tucker and Sklar all recorded at least three kills to finally establish a lead at 16-12. A Seminole timeout led to four unanswered Florida State points, leading Nagel to call a timeout of her own. The teams traded points out of the timeout until the scoreboard read 20-20 before devastating blocks from Vucich and Sklar helped ignite a 4-1 run to win the all-important third set, 25-21.
“That was definitely a very tough set,” Nagel said. “I’m just so excited our team kept with the game plan, stayed patient, stayed disciplined on our block and play[ed] one point at a time. We didn’t let the match get away from us.”
The final set saw more of the same, though Duke always managed to maintain a cushion of two or three points between themselves and the Seminoles. When the score reached 22-18, the crowd rose to its feet to help push the Blue Devils through the final few points.
Duke fed off the energy of the crowd to close out the highly-anticipated ACC match as a thunderous smash from Sklar won the set and the game, 25-21.
Many Blue Devil athletes representing a range of sports that included men's and women’s basketball, men's and women's soccer, track, football and women's lacrosse were especially enthusiastic in cheering on their volleyball peers.
“That’s one of the best parts about being an athlete at Duke,” Obeime said. “I think the athlete community is awesome and we really love to support each other. It feels great for them to take time out of their schedule to come support us.”
After the win, the Blue Devils are still a game-and-a-half back in the ACC, and will look to carry the momentum from Thursday's crucial win into Sunday's Senior Day contest against Notre Dame.
“One of our goals is to get better every single game and to be our best by the end of the season,” Sklar said. “I think that’s where we are right now. This is best game we’ve played so far. We’re on track.”
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