Duke Bounces Back From Loss To BYU, Defeats Pitt, 3-1 in Buckeye Classic

Saturday, September 17

Columbus, Ohio

7 p.m.

Duke University

Pittsburgh

Blue Devils Roll Past Butler, 3-0, Edge Arizona State, 3-2

Duke Bounces Back From Loss To BYU, Defeats Pitt, 3-1 in Buckeye Classic

9/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? The Duke volleyball team improved to 6-2 on the season, defeating Pittsburgh (7-6), 3-1, Saturday night in the Buckeye Classic at Ohio State. The Blue Devils won the match, 32-30, 21-30, 33-31, 30-22, after suffering a five-game loss to BYU last night.

“Game one was a very hard-fought game,” stated Duke Head Coach Jolene Nagel. “We played pretty well and the game could have gone either way. It was huge for us that we pulled out a win in the first game,” she said. “We then made too many errors in game two and didn't take advantage of some opportunities.”

On the brink of losing game three, the Blue Devils battled back from a 29-26 deficit, and won the game, 33-31. “The comeback in game three was huge. I was so proud of our players and the way they pulled out the win in game three,” Nagel said. “Then, in game four, we put it all together and finished the match strong. We kept a decent lead throughout the game and played well to win.”

Sophomore Ali Hausfeld led Duke offensively, posting a career-high 75 assists in the match. Sophomore Carrie DeMange had her sixth double-double in Duke's eight matches, notching a career-high 29 kills to go along with 16 digs. Junior Tealle Hunkus, who had 10 kills and 17 digs, recorded her fourth double-double of the season while senior Samantha Fisher had 16 kills and junior Pixie Levanas added 12 kills for the Blue Devils.

Sophomore Jenny Shull anchored the Duke defense, recording a team-high 22 digs. Hausfeld also added five digs and three blocks for Duke defensively.

“This was a great match for us,” exclaimed Nagel. “We played against a very good Pitt team. Every point in the match was a fight and they fought very hard. We had to work for each point in this match and I was very impressed with how our team responded.”

“I was really pleased with how our team hung tough in both matches this weekend. It was a great team effort all weekend and everyone played well. It was good for us to be able to play a lot of people against great quality competition and have success playing that way.”

Next up for the Duke volleyball team is the opening of the ACC schedule, as the Blue Devils travel to Clemson on Friday and Georgia Tech on Saturday. Duke will then return to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday, September 29 to face rival North Carolina at 7:00 p.m.