Duke Opens Duke Invitational Undefeated Friday

Friday, September 6

Durham, N.C.

12 pm

Duke University

Wofford

Duke

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Opens Duke Invitational Undefeated Friday

9/6/2019 9:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 UNCW Box Score Wofford Box Score

Duke Opens Duke Invitational Undefeated Friday

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke volleyball team opened up its annual Duke Invitational tournament Friday with a pair of wins over UNCW and Wofford in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"I'm really excited and proud of these girls for getting two wins," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "They were challenging matches and that's what you need during this time of year. Hopefully, we can recover and get ready for tomorrow because it is a lot of matches."

MATCH 1:
Behind a .310 team hitting percentage, the Blue Devils (3-2) began the 2019 Duke Invitational with a 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 28-26, 25-18) victory over Wofford after a back-and-forth battle between the two squads.

Outside hitter Ade Owokoniran tallied a team-high 17 kills with just three errors to hit .368 for the game. The sophomore recorded her first double-double of the season with 15 digs.

Setters Camille Nazor and Sarah Nelson combined for 47 assists. Defensively, Lily Cooper and Samantha Amos added seven blocks each as the team accounted for 22 to Wofford's 12.
The Terriers were led by Catie Cronister who recorded a triple-double (20 kills, 11 assists and 12 digs).

MATCH 2:
In the second match, UNCW was unable to find an answer for Owokoniran and Payton Schwantz as the Blue Devils defeated the Seahawks 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-22).

Owokoniran and Schwantz tallied 17 and 14 kills, respectively, to pace Duke's 56 kills as they hit .257 for the second match of the day.

Defensively, Mackenzie Cole (14), Kincey Smith (11) and Schwantz (10) all added 10+ digs to hold the Seahawks to a .176 hitting percentage.

Duke will be back in action to close out the Duke Invitational Saturday, Sept. 7 for a 2:30 p.m., match against Appalachian State.

For more information on Duke volleyball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeVB". You can also find all-access coverage of all Duke athletic programs on SnapChat by searching for "dukeathletics".

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