Duke Ends Home Slate with Sweep

Wednesday, November 27

Durham, N.C.

3 PM

Duke University

10-20,6-13ACC

Wake Forest

13-17,5-14ACC

Wake Forest

Duke

Rachel Richardson goes up for a kill inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

Duke Ends Home Slate with Sweep

11/27/2024 5:03:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke volleyball closed the home portion of its season Wednesday afternoon and earned a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-16, 25-22) of Wake Forest at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Blue Devils (10-20, 6-13 ACC) snapped their six-match losing streak and earned their first sweep since blanking Virginia Tech on October 20. Duke was led by Taylor Williams and Kerry Keefe, who combined for 33 kills against just seven errors. The duo added three service aces and 15 digs. Williams matched her career high with 16 kills. Rachel Richardson also joined the double-digit kill group with 12 and just one error.

Grace Penn crossed the 3,000-assist plateau in her career with her 44 helpers during the match. Penn has now tallied 30-plus assists in 13 matches this season and 40 or more in 10.

The Blue Devils capped the home slate hitting a robust .318 as a team and held Wake (13-17, 5-14 ACC) to a .260 hitting percentage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke took control early in the opening set, taking leads of 5-2, 8-3 and 10-5. Wake Forest kept it within a five-point deficit, 15-10, before the Blue Devils stretched the advantage back out and went ahead 17-10, forcing a Demon Deacon timeout. Wake never got closer than five points the rest of the way as Duke closed out the opening set with an emphatic Taylor Williams kill.
The two teams traded points early in the second set before Wake inched ahead at 6-3. Duke rallied and the two were tied at 7-7 and 8-8. From there, however, it was all Blue Devils. Duke ripped off nine of the next 11 points to take a 17-10 advantage. Duke led 23-13 before the Demon Deacons went on a mini run to make it 24-16. A Williams kill again ended the set and put the Blue Devils in control of the match.
In the third set, neither side led by more than two points until Duke took a 12-9 advantage. The Blue Devils surrendered a point, but then won three consecutive points to lead 15-10. The Demon Deacons answered and cut the Duke lead to just a point at 17-16 and 18-17. Duke felt in control at 23-18, but Wake rallied again and forced a Blue Devil timeout at 23-21. The teams split the first two points out of the break, but a Rachel Richardson kill provided the exclamation point on Duke's home season and clinched the match.

NOTES

Taylor Williams recorded her fourth consecutive game with double-digit kills, finishing with 16.
Kerry Keefe tallied a team-high 17 kills to reach double digits for the 21st time and fourth time in the last five matches.
Keefe added 13 digs to finish with her eighth double-double of the season.
Rachel Richardson finished with three blocks, her second-highest total this season and most since three versus Clemson on November 3.
Lauren Ingram finished with 13 digs, her third-highest total of the campaign and most since 16 against LSU on September 5.
Duke posted seven service aces while the Demon Deacons had just one. The seven aces were the most since for the Blue Devils since nine against Boston College on September 27.
The Blue Devils' .318 hitting percentage was their best since a .375 mark against Clemson on November 3.

UP NEXT

Duke caps the season Wednesday at Miami. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

For more information on Duke volleyball, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching for "DukeVB".

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