Team Effort Sends Duke Past Notre Dame, 3-1

Friday, October 6

Durham, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

11-5,2-3ACC

Notre Dame

8-5,2-3ACC

Notre Dame

Duke

Team Effort Sends Duke Past Notre Dame, 3-1

10/6/2023 10:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team defeated Notre Dame, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 30-28, 25-20), Friday night in front of a loud Cameron Indoor Stadium crowd.

With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.

Offensively, the Blue Devils were led by three with double-digit kills. Gracie Johnson recorded her 23rd-career double-double with 19 kills and 13 digs. Rylie Kadel was sensational in the absence of Jess Robinson, tying her career high with 13 kills and just two errors to hit .579 percent. Kerry Keefe rounded out Duke's stellar offensive performance with 13 kills.

Setter Emma Worthington dished 46 assists, while libero Madison Bryant led the defensive charge with 14 digs. Lizzie Fleming added six blocks to go along with her .500 hitting percentage, while Kadel and Worthington each added five.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Notre Dame hit .200 percent in the opening frame to take an early 1-0 lead. Kadel immediately came out swinging and provided a big spark for Duke with flawless 4-for-4 hitting.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair — just as it seemed like one team had the upper hand, the opposition fought right back.
Duke hit .242 percent in the second set to tie the match, 1-1. Keefe added three kills on the right side while Bryant picked up two aces with her tough serving, putting the Fighting Irish on their heels.
Johnson settled into her offensive rhythm in the third set with eight kills on 22 swings as Duke's go-to threat. Keefe added five kills and no mistakes to hit .556 percent while the blocking unit continued to do its thing. Fleming registered three blocks to limit Notre Dame's hitting percentage to just .114.
With their second ACC victory in sight, the Blue Devils were all gas and no breaks in the fourth frame, especially on defense. Worthington dished 13 dimes and collected four blocks while Kadel added three at the net. Fleming and Kadel combined for eight kills and no errors to hit .800 percent. As a team, the Blue Devils posted a .289 hitting percentage to close the match.

NOTABLES

Duke improves to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC.
Notre Dame drops to 8-5 and 2-3 in conference play.
This was head coach Jolene Nagel's 694th career victory and the 491st at the helm of the Blue Devils.
The all-time series with Notre Dame is tied, 11-11.
With her three aces tonight, Johnson now owns 149 career aces to rank fifth in program history.
This was Johnson's 23rd-career double-double contest.
Worthington tallied over 40 assists for the 18th time in her career.
Duke's 22 block assists tied for the second most this season.
Fleming is hitting .430 percent this season with 79 kills and just five errors on 172 swings.
Notre Dame was led by Sydney Palazzolo with 17 kills.