Duke Falls to No. 8 Pitt, 3-0

Friday, September 22

Durham, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

9-3,0-1ACC

Pittsburgh

10-2,1-0ACC

Pittsburgh

Duke

Duke Falls to No. 8 Pitt, 3-0

9/22/2023 9:57:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

DURHAM - Eighth-ranked Pitt swept Duke, 3-0 (25-20, 30-28, 25-22), in the ACC opener Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The loss ended Duke's nine-match winning streak.

The Panthers hit .258 percent for the match and were led by Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock, who combined for 28 kills to help pace the offense.

The Blue Devils were led by Gracie Johnson and Kerry Keefe with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, as Johnson hit .286 percent for the match. Setter Emma Worthington dished 33 dimes, while libero Madison Bryant tallied 18 digs. Defensively, Rachel Richardson paced the blocking effort with five blocks, while Lizzie Fleming and Jess Robinson each added four.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both offenses were firing in the opening frame as the Panthers barely outhit the Blue Devils, .281 percent.
Despite dropping the first set, Johnson came out swinging and tallied eight quick kills and no errors to hit .800. Pitt's Chiamaka Nowkolo sparked a 6-0 run with three consecutive kills on Duke serve receive overpasses and continued to hit well to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair with 18 ties and nine lead changes as neither team could break free of the other. Keefe led the offensive unit with five kills while Robinson added four.
Duke's block came alive in the second frame with 10 block assists, led by Fleming and Richardson with three each.
A kill by Pitt's Nwokolo tied the set (28-28). Pitt's head coach Dan Fisher challenged the next call and it was reversed, leading Rachel Fairbanks to notch her 23rd assist of the match as she connected with Stafford to take a 2-0 lead.
The Blue Devils struggled offensively in the third set, hitting .103 percent, as Pitt's block stifled Duke's offense with six block assists. Pitt's Stafford hit .462 percent to help lead the Panthers to their first ACC win of the season.

NOTABLES

Duke drops to 9-3 overall and 0-1 in the ACC, snapping a nine-game winning streak.
Pitt improves to 10-2 and 1-0 in the ACC.
The all-time series is now 15-8 in favor of the Panthers.
Duke drops its first home match of the season.
Pitt's eight total blocks were tied for the fewest all season.
The second set featured 18 ties and 24 total.
With her two aces tonight, Johnson now owns 140 career aces to tie for seventh in program history.
With her four blocks tonight, Fleming now owns 399 for her career to tie for 10th in program history.
The Panthers were led by Torrey Stafford with 15 kills.

QUOTE

"Our team served well tonight and that kept us in each set. Our team showed some grit and toughness tonight and demonstrated that we can play at a high level. We're capable of making a few more digs than we did tonight and that would have helped us score on transition. Pitt is a solid team and I think tonight they did a better job than us of taking care of opportunities that were presented." - head coach Jolene Nagel