No. 3 Stanford Outlasts Duke in Five

Friday, September 11

Durham, N.C.

6:30 PM

Duke University

Stanford

No. 3 Stanford Outlasts Duke in Five

9/11/2015 10:12:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Senior outside hitter Emily Sklar knocked down a career-high 27 kills but Duke was unable to overcome third-ranked Stanford in the end, falling 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 10-15) Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

After missing three matches due to injury, Sklar did not skip a beat in her return to the court. In addition to her career high in kills, Sklar also picked up 12 digs to register her 34th career double-double.

Sklar was not the only Blue Devil to turn in a double-double as redshirt senior setter Maggie Deichmeister dished out 62 assists and picked up 13 digs. Friday's performance marked Deichmeister's second career 60-assist game and first since December 2012.

Junior libero Sasha Karelov and freshman defensive specialist Kelli Kalinoski anchored a Duke backline that picked up 108 digs. Karelov finished with a season-high 29 digs while Kalinoski amassed a career-best 26.

In the end, Stanford (4-2) was able to use its block to generate points, totaling 15.0 for the match while Duke (4-3) totaled 4.0. As a result, the Cardinal had 14 attack errors to the Blue Devils' 32.

“We did some really good things at times," said head coach Jolene Nagel. "But we've got to make that a little more steady and not have the big ups and downs we had tonight. We've just got to even some of those things out."

Hayley Hodson led Stanford with 17 kills on 48 attempts. Merete Lutz and Brittany Howard joined Hodson in double-digit kills, adding 15 and 11, respectively. Hallan McKenna paced the backling with 23 digs, while Ivana Vanjack registered 11 blocks.

The Cardinal posted a .478 hitting percentage in a first set it captured, 25-17. Stanford jumped out to an 11-4 advantage and Duke was unable to trim the margin under seven.

The Blue Devils stormed back with a 21-kill second set, taking the frame 25-23. Sklar added seven kills in the frame and freshman Leah Meyer contributed six in Duke's best offensive frame. Meyer would finish the match with a career-high 13 kills.

The third set saw Stanford race out to an 11-2 lead and the Cardinal kept the Blue Devils at bay for the 25-17 victory.

Again Duke was able to respond, mounting a 7-0 run in the middle of the fourth frame to stake an 18-10 lead. Stanford clawed its way back and tied the score at 22-all on a Vanjak and Jordan Burgess block. Duke countered with a Jordan Tucker kill followed by a Sklar tally to establish set point. A Tucker kill ended the set, sending the match to a fifth frame.

Tucker, one of three Blue Devils to reach double-digit kills, chipped in 14 kills for the match.

A 6-1 Stanford run in the fifth turned a 4-2 Duke advantage into an 8-5 Cardinal advantage. A Sklar kill pulled Duke within one, 11-10, but Stanford closed out the match on a 4-0 rally to clinch the five-set victory.

Duke faces a quick turnaround as the Blue Devils take on UNC Wilmington at 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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