Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus #25 North Carolina on October 4, 2025 at 2 PM
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2 PM
Volleyball
vs #25 North Carolina
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Wednesday, October 25
Durham, N.C.
7 p.m.
Duke University
14-8,5-6ACC
3
vs
1
North Carolina
10-10,4-7ACC
1
2
3
4
F
North Carolina
25
23
20
18
1
Duke
20
25
25
25
3
Duke Downs North Carolina, 3-1
10/25/2023 10:29:00 PM | Volleyball
DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team secured a 3-1 victory (20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18) Wednesday evening in ACC volleyball action at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 14-8 overall and 5-6 in conference play. This marked the first win over the Tar Heels in Durham since Nov. 24, 2017.
Gracie Johnson and Kerry Keefe combined for 31 kills to help lead the offensive unit as Duke hit .318 percent for the match. Johnson tallied 16 kills to Keefe's 15 as Emma Worthington dished 43 assists. Defensively, libero Madison Bryant led the charge with 16 digs while Jess Robinson paced a steady blocking contingent with 10 blocks, which ties her career high.
With her career performance this evening, Robinson surpassed 400 total blocks for her career. She tallied 323 during her undergraduate career at Michigan and owns 82 as a Blue Devil.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- North Carolina used a .206 hitting percentage to take an early 1-0 lead in the match. Johnson's swing quickly came alive with five kills and just one error on 12 attempts.
- The second set featured a whopping 15 ties in the back-and-forth affair.
- Duke bounced back with a .385 hitting percentage to even the match, 1-1. Keefe led the offensive charge with six kills on 12 swings to hit .500 percent while Rachel Richardson added four.
- The Blue Devils tallied 12 block assists in the third set to set the Tar Heels back to a .061 hitting percentage. Robinson added four at the net as North Carolina's blocking was silent in the third frame.
- Leading 2-1, Duke was outstanding in the fourth and final set as it posted a .469 clip with 16 kills and just one error on 32 attempts. Johnson and Keefe combined for 10 kills as they hit .625 between them.
NOTABLES
- This was head coach Jolene Nagel's 697th career victory and the 494th at the helm of the Blue Devils.
- The all-time series moves to 68-56 in favor of North Carolina.
- The win snapped a five-match losing streak to the Tar Heels.
- Keefe has tallied at least 10 kills in all but three matches this fall.
- Duke's 30 block assists is the most this season.
- With its .318 hitting percentage, Duke has hit at least .300 percent seven times this year.
- This is the first of two meetings between Duke and North Carolina — they will meet again on November 24 in Chapel Hill.
- North Carolina was led by Emani' Foster with 15 kills.
NEXT MATCH
- Duke faces NC State Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
For more information on Duke volleyball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeVB".
#GoDuke
Team Stats
UNC
DU
Kills
53
57
Errors
25
15
Attempts
142
132
Hitting %
.197
.318
Points
64.0
75.0
Assists
48
49
Aces
5
3
Blocks
6
15
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
DS/L
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