Early on, Duke found success on the attack, averaging a .415 hitting percentage across the first two sets. But it was the Blue Devils’ blocking that won them the game.
Leading 25-24 in the fourth set, freshman middle blocker Leah Meyer and senior setter Christina Vucich leaped up to stuff Amanda McKinzie at the net to secure a four-set victory (25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 26-24) for Duke against Virginia Tech Sunday at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The decisive block was one of 11 on the day for the Blue Devils, who picked up its second win in three days and avoided heading to a fifth set for the second time this weekend.
“We definitely struggled in the beginning of the season with the blocking,” Meyer said. “I know it has been the main focus for me personally and the rest of the team. In practice we worked at it every single day, coming in and working on our blocking and I think it is starting to pay off.”
After establishing a two-set lead, Duke (10-10, 5-5 in the ACC) withstood a furious comeback bid from a Hokie squad that took a while to get going. Meyer racked up 17 kills and senior outside hitter Emily Sklar and junior middle blocker Jordan Tucker added 16 and 14 kills, respectively, to keep Virginia Tech blockers busy across the net.
The first set featured plenty of offensive fireworks, with both sides posting hitting percentages approaching .400. The Blue Devils maintained a tight lead and started to pull away midway through the frame. After an impressive 9-1 run featuring multiple kills from Meyer and Sklar, Duke led, 19-10. Although Virginia Tech (14-8, 5-5) managed to close the gap to just two points, the hosts put away the frame with two powerful kills from Tucker, who posted perfect hitting percentage in the first set.
The Hokies came out strong to start the second set, but every time they were on the verge of creating separation, a service error kept the Blue Devils right on their heels. Virginia Tech committed six service errors in the first two sets and 10 for the match. Duke capitalized on the opponents’ missteps and eventually took the lead at 21-20. Hokie head coach Chris Riley called for timeout as fast as he could, but it was no use against a Blue Devil squad with momentum on its side. Meyer accounted for three of the final four points as Duke went up 2-0 with a 25-22 set win.
“We were excited to get this win because Virginia Tech is a good team,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “They were a solid team and they worked really hard [and] played amazing defense, especially in set three and four.”
But things started to go south in the third frame. Virginia Tech finally found its footing and dominated the set on both sides of the net. After Duke hit a soaring .452 in the second set, the Hokies blockers cut that the number to -.027, forcing seven Blue Devil attack errors. Offensively, Virginia Tech had its own trio leading the way—junior outside hitters McKinzie, Lindsey Owens and Katie Krueger combined for 47 kills on the afternoon, pounding Duke’s defense from all angles.
Duke was limited to six kills in the frame, scoring mostly on the Hokies’ attacking and service errors.
“I think they picked up their play a lot,” Nagel said. “I feel like today we didn’t play together as a team like we were capable of. So there was just a little bit [of] a lack of communication and I thought our energy was low as well. Unfortunately, you never want that to happen but it does happen…it’s good to know that we can get [a win] even in that situation, but I feel like that was something we were missing in order to play a little sharper.”
With the chance for a sweep out of the window, the fourth stanza turned into a nail-biter, with 15 ties and four lead changes. After coming from two sets down to beat Pittsburgh Friday, the Blue Devils wanted to avoid suffering a similar fate. Duke entered Sunday’s match 2-4 in five-set contests this season, but made sure a decisive frame would not be needed. The teams traded punches as the score stacked up all the way to 24-24. In the next rally, Sklar’s kill opened up a precious window for the Blue Devils to put the game away for good, setting the stage for the block by Meyer and Vucich.
With two solid wins in its pocket, Duke will set foot on the road again Wednesday at Wake Forest at 6:30 p.m.
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