Duke Sweeps Michigan State in ACC/B1G Challenge

Friday, September 8

East Lansing, Mich.

7 p.m.

Duke University

5-2,0-0ACC

Michigan State

4-3,0-0Big Ten

Duke

Michigan St.

Photo by: Nat LeDonne / Duke Athletics

Duke Sweeps Michigan State in ACC/B1G Challenge

9/8/2023 9:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Duke volleyball team swept Michigan State, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23), Friday evening on the road in ACC/B1G Challenge action.

Offensively, Duke was led by Kerry Keefe and Jess Robinson with a combined 20 kills and only six errors as they hit .320 and .316, respectively. As a team, the Blue Devils hit .283 percent and featured a .500 hitting percentage in the first set.

Setter Emma Worthington dished 30 assists, while libero Madison Bryant led the team with 10 digs. Lizzie Fleming and Robinson each tallied five total blocks, including two solos, to lead the defensive charge.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Blue Devils started the match firing on all cylinders with an impressive .500 hitting percentage as they took an early 1-0 lead. Duke knocked down 14 kills on 28 swings with no errors and was led by Keefe with five and Robinson's four.
The Spartans answered with a more efficient hitting percentage than Duke in the second set (.231), but Duke stood tall. The second frame featured nine ties — just when the Blue Devils would start to pull away, the Spartans responded.
Duke led 23-20, but a few errors allowed Michigan State to creep in before Robinson tallied her seventh kill of the match to end the set.
Leading 2-0, the third and what would become the final set once again featured nine ties and three lead changes.
The back-and-forth affair ended with the Spartans holding off two Duke match points before Keefe knocked down her 10th kill to end the match.

NOTABLES

Duke improves to 5-2 overall with its fifth-straight win.
Duke is now 3-2 in the ACC/B1G Challenge.
The all-time series against Michigan State is tied 3-3.
The win was head coach Jolene Nagel's 687th of her career and the 484th at the helm of the Blue Devils.
Duke's block was alive from the start of the match — its 10 total blocks were the second highest this fall.
Five different Blue Devils registered aces, led by Christina Barrow and Keefe with two each.
Keefe tallied her 14th-career game with double-digit kills.
With her ace this evening, Gracie Johnson owns 13 for her career to rank eighth in program history.
Fleming tallied five kills and no errors to hit .455 percent. She has committed just four hitting errors this fall.
Michigan State was led by Taylah Holdem with 11 kills.

QUOTE

"We are thrilled for our team to get a win on the road in a great environment. Our block and defense continued to work out there and kept us in some rallies which we ultimately won. That was big to help us gain some momentum. This was a great team effort from all. Now we hope to regroup and be ready for tomorrow." - head coach Jolene Nagel