Duke Drops Five-Setter at Florida State

Sunday, October 1

Tallahassee, Fla.

2 p.m.

Duke University

10-5,1-3ACC

Florida State

10-6,4-0ACC

Duke

Florida St.

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Duke Drops Five-Setter at Florida State

10/1/2023 7:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Duke volleyball team came up short Sunday at Florida State, falling to the Seminoles 3-2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22, 8-15) at Tully Gymnasium.

Duke fought back from a 2-0 deficit to force the decisive fifth set but couldn't complete the comeback.

Both teams featured three players with double-digit kills as Duke's Gracie Johnson led all scorers with a season-high 25 kills. She hit .429 percent for the match, committing just four errors on 49 swings.

Kerry Keefe and Jess Robinson each tallied 12 kills alongside Johnson, while setter Emma Worthington dished 53 assists, just one shy of her career high. Libero Madison Bryant led the defensive charge with 17 digs, while Robinson added three blocks, including two solo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke fell behind 1-0 early as Florida State hit .347 percent in the opening set. The Blue Devils trailed 22-12 and attempted to rally, winning six of the final nine points, but couldn't close it out.
Duke carried its late momentum from the first set into the second and posted a .353 hitting percentage. Florida State's Audrey Rothman led the offense with six kills to hit .667 percent.
Duke responded, taking the third set, 25-23. Keefe hit .455 with five kills while Johnson added seven to Robinson's four. Neither team settled into their defense with zero blocks on both sides.
With the match on the line and looking to force a fifth set, Duke led 23-20 as Johnson tallied her 20th kill of the match. Fleming and Keefe put up a big block on the right side (24-20), before an attack error by the Seminoles.
Tied at two sets apiece, Florida State outlasted Duke with a .500 hitting percentage as it jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. Johnson held the team together offensively with an impressive .833 clip, but the team couldn't find the answer late in the match.

NOTABLES

Duke falls to 10-5 this fall and 1-3 in the ACC.
The Blue Devils are now 3-3 on the road this season.
Florida State improves to 10-6 and 4-0 in conference play.
Duke has lost 11 consecutive to Florida State.
Johnson recorded her 17th-career match with 20 or more kills.
With her two aces tonight, Johnson now owns 146 career aces to rank fifth in program history.
With her flawless performance of nine kills and no errors today, Fleming owns 72 kills and only four errors this season to hit .425 percent.
Johnson moves to seventh in program history in total kills with 1,313.
The Seminoles were led by Audrey Koenig with 19 kills.

QUOTE

This was a tight match today and our team showed a lot of grit. We had some miscommunications which aren't helpful. After being down 2-0, our group was able to rally in the third set and execute offensively. We were getting some solid touches on the block and controlling the ball better on defense. The fourth set was a fight as well. In the fifth set, we gave up points in a row early which was difficult to recover from. This team has shown a lot of character and we look to regroup and be ready for our home stance next weekend where we will welcome back to town many of our alumni." - head coach Jolene Nagel