LEADING OFF With 10 regular season conference matches remaining, Duke (14-6, 8-2 ACC) looks to keep pace with the ACC leaders as the Blue Devils travel to Boston College (5-15, 0-10 ACC) Friday, Oct. 28 (7:30 p.m.) and Syracuse (5-15, 4-6 ACC) Sunday, Oct. 30 (1 p.m.) ... The Blue Devils are currently tied with Georgia Tech (17-5, 8-2 ACC) for fourth in the league standings behind North Carolina (18-2, 10-0 ACC), Florida State (16-3, 9-1 ACC) and Notre Dame (18-4, 9-1 ACC) ... Friday's contest at Boston College will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
ACC Standings
Rk
School
Overall
ACC
1.
North Carolina
18-2
10-0
2.
Florida State
16-3
9-1
Notre Dame
18-4
9-1
4.
Duke
14-6
8-2
Georgia Tech
17-5
8-2
6.
Pittsburgh
15-7
6-4
NC State
13-9
6-4
8.
Wake Forest
9-12
5-5
9.
Syracuse
5-15
4-6
10.
Virginia Tech
8-13
3-7
Miami
9-13
3-7
12.
Louisville
7-13
2-8
13.
Clemson
6-16
1-9
Virginia
4-17
1-9
15.
Boston College
5-15
0-10
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS After starting the season 4-4, Duke (13-5, 7-1 ACC) has won 10 of its past 12 matches and is tied for fourth in the ACC standings ... The Blue Devils currently lead the league in digs per set (18.14), kills per set (14.06) and assists per set (13.13) ... Offensively, senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker owns a team-best 234 kills and .320 hitting percentage ... Overall, Duke has six hitters who have surpassed 100 kills -- Leah Meyer (179), Jamie Stivers (175), Jessi Bartholomew (155), Anna Kropf (122) and Samantha Amos (120) Freshman setter Cindy Marina runs the Duke's 5-1 offense and ranks third in the ACC in assists per frame (10.68) ... Defensively, sophomore Leah Meyer has a team-high 87 blocks, while senior libero Sasha Karelov has picked up an ACC-leading 416 digs.
DUKE vs. BOSTON COLLEGE Duke and Boston College are set for the 19th match in program history Friday ... The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 17-1 and are a perfect 8-0 against the Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Mass. ... Duke suffered its lone loss to Boston College in 2012 and has won four straight ... This past season, the Blue Devils topped the Eagles in four in Cameron. .
Series History
Overall
Duke leads 17-1
At Boston College
Duke leads 8-0
Current Streak
W4
First Meeting
Oct. 13, 2005 (W, 3-1)
Last Meeting
Nov. 15, 2015 (W, 3-1)
DUKE vs. SYRACUSE Sunday's match marks the sixth all-time between Duke and Syracuse ... The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 4-1 ... Duke also owns a 2-0 advantage against the Orange in Syracuse ... Syracuse won the teams' lone 2015 meeting, 3-1, in Cameron.
Series History
Overall
Duke leads 4-1
At Syracuse
Duke leads 2-0
Current Streak
L1
First Meeting
Nov. 16, 1991 (W, 3-1)
Last Meeting
Nov. 13, 2015 (L, 1-3)
DEVILISH DEFENSE Duke enters the weekend as one of the ACC's top defensive teams ... The Blue Devils lead the league in digs per set (18.14), rank third in opponent hitting percentage (.169) and rate seventh in blocks per frame (2.33) ... Duke has held 12 of its 20 opponents to a hitting percentage under .200 ... In addition, the Blue Devils have allowed just one opponent (Loyola Marymount, .343) to post a hitting percentage above .250 this season ... The Blue Devils rank third nationally in digs per set and are the only ACC team to average over 17.00 digs per frame ... If the season ended today, Duke's 18.14 digs-per-set average would rank sixth in program history ... Duke has led the league in digs per set the past three season (2013, 2014, 2015).
National Digs Per Set Leaders
1.
UNI
18.31
2.
Tulsa
18.29
3.
Duke
18.14
SFA
18.14
5.
UCLA
18.05
ACC Opponent Hitting Percentage Leaders
1.
North Carolina
.161
2.
Georgia Tech
.168
3.
Duke
.169
ACC Digs Per Set Leaders
1.
Duke
18.14
2.
Georgia Tech
16.62
3.
NC State
16.30
Duke Team Digs Per Set Records
1.
2004
19.83
2.
2005
19.50
3.
1992
18.83
4.
2007
18.82
5.
2006
18.79
6.
2016
18.14
BALANCED OFFENSE Duke enters the weekend as the ACC's top team in kills per set (14.06) and assists per set (13.13) ... Six Blue Devils average over 2.00 kills per frame: Jordan Tucker (2.96), Leah Meyer (2.63), Jamie Stivers (2.54), Jessi Bartholomew (2.25) Samantha Amos (2.26) and Anna Kropf (2.14) ... In addition, Duke has led the ACC in kills per set in three of the past four season (2016, 2014, 2013).
2016 ACC Kills Per Set Leaders
1.
Duke
14.06
2.
Georgia Tech
13.74
3.
Pittsburgh
13.65
KARELOV ANCHORS DEFENSE Senior Sasha Karelov has anchored the Duke backline the past three seasons as the Blue Devils' starting libero ... She is the fourth player in school history to reach 1,800 career digs and currently ranks fourth in program history with 1,805 digs ... Karelov has averaged 4.40 digs per set for her career, good for fourth in the Duke record books and 10th in ACC history ... In addition, her 1,805 career digs leads all active ACC players and ranks 11th among all active NCAA Division I players.
TUCKER REACHES 1,000 CAREER KILLS Senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker has established herself as one of the top middle blockers in program history as the Prairie Village, Kan., native became the 24th Blue Devil to reach 1,000 career kills with a 17-kill performance Oct. 17 versus Virginia ... For her career, Tucker has totaled, 1,033 kills to go along with 372 blocks ... She ranks ninth in program history with a .304 career hitting percentage ... This season, Tucker leads the Blue Devils in both kills (234) and hitting percentage (.320) ... Tucker ranks eighth in the league in hitting percentage as well ... She has knocked down 10 or more kills 15 times in 2016 and has topped .300 hitting nine times.
FRESHMAN MARINA STARTING SETTER Cindy Marina is the first Duke freshman to start at setter since 2010 ACC Player of the Year Kellie Catanach ... Marina and senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker and senior libero Sasha Karelov are the only Blue Devils to play in every set this season ... Marina has handled all the setting duties in Duke's 5-1 system, averaging 10.68 assists per frame, good for third in the ACC ... The Temecula, Calif., native leads the ACC with a team-high 13 double-doubles ... Prior to her arrival at Duke, Marina joined the Albanian National Team June 3-5 in Twardogora, Poland and again June 17-19 for the 2016 CEV Volleyball European League in Durres, Albania this past summer.
MEYER IN THE MIDDLE For the season, sophomore Leah Meyer leads the Blue Devils with 87 blocks ... She ranks fifth in the ACC and 39th nationally with a 1.28 blocks-per-set average ... For her career, Meyer has averaged 1.14 blocks per set, good for fifth all-time at Duke ... Meyer has posted at least four blocks in 12 matches, including her first career double-double Sept. 24 at Virginia ... Meyer totaled 12 kills and 11 blocks versus UVA to record the first double-double for a Duke middle blocker since Christiana Gray in 2012. .
BLUE DEVILS ADD FIVE FRESHMEN The Duke Volleyball Class of 2020 consists of five freshmen in rightside hitter Samantha Amos (Pittsburgh, Pa.), setter Cindy Marina (Temecula, Calif.), setter/defensive specialist Sarah Nelson (Los Gatos, Calif.), outside hitter Natalie Schilling (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and outside hitter Jamie Stivers (Coppell, Texas) ... Duke's five-player freshmen class is its largest since 2012.
DUO TABBED PRESEASON ALL-ACC Libero Sasha Karelov and middle blocker Jordan Tucker garnered 2016 Preseason All-ACC recognition as announced by the league Aug. 5 ... Duke's starting libero the past two seasons, Karelov was an AVCA All-East Coast Region honorable mention and All-ACC second team honoree in 2015 ... One of the top middle blockers in the ACC, Tucker collected AVCA All-East Coast Region and first team All-ACC accolades as a junior in 2015.
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