Blue Devils Win Two Saturday at Duke Invitational

Saturday, August 27

Durham, N.C.

1:00 PM

Duke University

Eastern Kentucky

Blue Devils Win Two Saturday at Duke Invitational

8/27/2016 10:31:00 PM | Volleyball

VB Highlights: Duke 3, LSU 0 Jordan Tucker Postgame: Duke 3, LSU 0 Jamie Stivers Postgame: Duke 3, LSU 0 Jolene Nagel Postgame: Duke 3, LSU 0 Jordan Tucker Duke Invite Highlights Box Score | LSU (PDF)Box Score | LSU (HTML)Box Score | EKU (HTML)Box Score | EKU (PDF)Photo Gallery | LSU

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – The Blue Devils completed an undefeated showing at the 2016 Duke Invitational, recording a pair of wins Saturday over Eastern Kentucky and LSU to finish the weekend with an unblemished 3-0 record. Duke squeaked out a 3-2 decision against EKU Saturday afternoon in Cameroon Indoor Stadium before sweeping LSU in the tournament finale Saturday evening.

Senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker had a tremendous day, totaling 27 kills while hitting .587 over Duke's two matches. She earned Duke Invitational All-Tournament Team honors, along with teammates Anna Kropf and Alyse Whitaker.

“It's been a really long day for sure,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “Eastern Kentucky played great defense and just really hung tough. I thought it was really wonderful for our team to pull together and get that one in five. For our team to get themselves ready to play this match, that showed some of their experience and senior leadership we have on our team.”

Match 1 vs. Eastern Kentucky
Tucker was one block shy of a double-double to help Duke withstand a pesky Eastern Kentucky (0-3) squad, 3-2 (25-14, 27-25, 22-25, 25-8, 15-13), Saturday afternoon in Cameron. The Prairie Village, Kan., native sent down 16 kills and tied her career high with nine blocks in the narrow victory. She committed just two errors on 31 swings, good for a .452 hitting percentage.

Kropf and Whitaker also tallied double-digit kills, dropping 10 each versus the Colonels. Duke also totaled 14.0 blocks as a team and limited EKU to a .119 clip for the match.

Duke pounced early to take the opening set, 25-14, before falling behind 2-1 overall. Eastern Kentucky notched 37 of its 56 kills during those two frames, winning the second set 27-25 before capturing the third 25-22.

The Blue Devils responded with authority in begin the fourth, winning the set's first 11 points before cruising to a 25-8 decision. Tucker put down four kills in the stanza while Whitaker added three to lead the way.

Down 8-7 in the fifth, Duke mounted a 4-0 rally, bolstered by kills from Kropf and Whitaker. EKU brought the match within a point, 13-12, but a service error couple with Tucker's 16th kill gave Duke the win.

Freshman setter Cindy Marina finished with her second double-double in as many matches, adding 37 assists and 12 digs. Senior libero Sasha Karelov picked up a team-high 20 digs.

Match 2 vs. LSU
Kropf, Tucker and freshman Jamie Stivers contributed 11 kills each as Duke swept LSU (25-17, 25-16, 25-19) in Saturday's nightcap.

Kropf dropped a career-high 11 kills on 16 attempts with just one error, posting a tremendous .625 hitting percentage. Tucker was equally as efficient, registering her 11 kills while hitting .556. Stivers also hit over .300, turning in a .320 clip.

As a team, Duke posted a .385 hitting percentage, its highest of the weekend. LSU (2-1) could not match Duke's offensive production as the Tigers did not have a player reach double-digit kills.

After staking a five-point advantage by the first set's midway point, Duke did not allow LSU within four the rest of the stanza, claiming the frame 25-17.

Duke then used a 6-3 spurt to break a 10-all tie in the second, once again capturing a lead it would not relinquish.

The Blue Devils' offensive continued to click in the third. Duke hit .424, collecting six Tucker kills and five from Kropf, to ice the victory in straight sets.

Duke returns to Cameron Thursday, Sept. 1 in a non-conference game against North Carolina and Friday, Sept. 2 to host TCU. Both matches are set for 6:30 p.m.

2016 Duke Invitational All-Tournament Team
UNCG: Christina Gregory
Eastern Kentucky: Cassie Knutson
LSU: Jariel Tureaud
LSU: Anna Zwiebel
Duke: Anna Kropf
Duke: Jordan Tucker
Duke: Alyse Whitaker

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