The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead against the Hurricanes and never looked back, erasing any lasting memories of their October collapse.
Duke began its weekend road trip with a sweep of Miami at the Knights Sports Complex in Coral Gables, Fla. The Blue Devils won 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-18) to pick up their second straight victory, thanks in large part to a stalwart defensive effort, tallying 22 blocks and 62 digs and limiting the Hurricanes to a .124 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Jordan Tucker led the way with seven blocks and redshirt senior setter Maggie Deichmeister and freshman middle blocker Leah Meyer combined for nine.
“Our blocks did a great job of timing and waiting and getting good touches,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We were able to get the ball in transition and score off of that.”
The Blue Devils (15-12, 10-7 in the ACC) also recorded 47 kills Friday, with Meyer and Tucker responsible for 12 and eight, respectively. Duke’s 11 more kills than Miami were the result of solid defensive play. The Hurricanes (18-9, 10-6) limited to a sub-.160 hitting percentage in each of three sets, and committed 20 attack errors.
The Blue Devils opened strong, winning eight of the match’s first 10 points, but Miami rallied back to take a 15-14 lead. After a back-and-forth middle of the first set, the two teams found themselves knotted at 22 apiece. The next three points all went Duke's way, as a kill by Meyer and two errors by the Hurricanes granted the Blue Devils the 25-22 win.
“There were some tight moments there towards the end of that first set,” Nagel said. “I was really pleased with the way our team played those last few points to get that first set, which was important.”
The second frame told a similar story. Despite surrendering a large lead, the Blue Devils again eeked out a win and thwarted a Hurricane rally. Duke led 22-16, but a 7-1 run by Miami evened the score at 23. From there, a kill by senior outside hitter Emily Sklar and a Hurricanes’ error led to a 25-23 win for the Blue Devils.
“[In the] second set we had a better start,” Nagel said. “We kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit, and that made the set closer than it needed to be. We really gave up some momentum.… We really were executing well, but then there was a switch in momentum and all of a sudden they got on a run and we were right back where we started from.”
The third set remained close for the majority of the frame, but Duke ran away with it at the end to secure the sweep. The Blue Devils claimed six of the final seven points to give the team a 25-18 victory—in that span, Meyer recorded two kills and Sklar recorded one. The rest of Duke’s points were won off Miami errors.
“[The win] feels really great,” Nagel said. “Miami has had a really excellent year, and to be able to get it at their place and do it in three I think shows a lot of character about our team.”
Nagel also credited the Blue Devils’ strong service game for the win. Although Duke did not collect a single ace, the consistent placement of the serves set up many offensive opportunities for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils will take on No. 20 Florida State Sunday at 1 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla., looking to continue to build on its late-season momentum.
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Jacob Weiss is a Trinity senior. His column, "not jumping to any conclusions," runs on alternate Fridays.