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6:30 PM
Volleyball
vs #8 Louisville
Saturday, August 29
Long Beach, Calif.
8:00 PM
Duke University
2
at
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Long Beach State
Duke Falls in Five at Long Beach State
8/29/2015 10:53:00 PM | Volleyball
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State slipped past the 25th-ranked Duke volleyball team in a five-set battle, handing the Blue Devils a 3-2 (25-17, 24-26, 17-25, 25-21, 11-15) setback Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
The two evenly matched teams posted comparable numbers with Duke (2-1) holding the slight edge in kills, 64-59, while Long Beach (2-0) led in digs, 70-51. The 49ers benefitted from 16 Blue Devil service errors to hold on for the victory.
The Blue Devils' Alyse Whitaker and Anna Kropf both notched double-digit kills. Whitaker tallied 14 to lead Duke, while Kropf knocked down a career-best 10 on .381 hitting and added seven blocks. Sophomore Cadie Bates also registered a career high in kills, adding nine to go along with five digs and a pair of aces.
“I was proud of what I saw our team do at certain points during the match,” said head coach Jolene Nagel. “We're going to learn a great deal from tonight. Serving is one area, but also trusting each other is another. We're going to be a better team as a result of this match.”
After hitting a combined .378 over its first two matches, Duke struggled to find its rhythm early against the 49ers. Long Beach State led from the beginning in a 25-17 first set which saw the Blue Devils hit .146.
The start of the second set mirrored the first, but Duke kept fighting to keep within striking distance. Down by two, the Blue Devils received kills from Bates and Maggie Deichmeister to knot the score. Following a timeout, Long Beach State countered with a pair of kills of its own to once again gain the upper hand. A block extended the 49ers' advantage before the Blue Devils clawed back to tie the set at 23-23. Duke fought off set point and took its first lead on back-to-back Kropf kills before Leah Meyer notched the solo block to seal the set, 26-24.
The block was one of a match-high eight for freshman Meyer, who also chipped in seven kills and an ace.
Duke capitalized on the momentum shift and put up seven-straight points behind the serve of sophomore Emma Paradiso to begin the third stanza. The quick start propelled the Blue Devils to a 25-17 victory and 2-1 advantage heading to the fourth set.
Up 7-6 to start the fourth frame, Duke won five straight points and appeared to have the match secured before Long Beach responded. A 9-1 Long Beach State rally put the 49ers up and Duke was unable to answer down the stretch.
The 49ers continued their strong play into the fifth set and led 8-4 by the midway point. Twice Duke trimmed the lead to two points, first at 10-8 and again at 12-10, but could come no closer. Long Beach State's Carly Beddingfield picked up the game-winning kill to secure the set, 15-11.
The final kill was the 11th for Beddingfield while teammate Nele Barber led all players with 19.
Duke returns to action this coming weekend, hitting the road for Lawrence, Kan., and the Kansas Invitational Sept. 4-5.
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