Duke Sweeps VCU as Cole Reaches 1,000 Digs

Tuesday, February 9

Richmond, Va.

4:00 PM

Duke University

7-2,6-2ACC

VCU

5-1,1-0Atlantic 10

Duke

VCU

Duke Sweeps VCU as Cole Reaches 1,000 Digs

2/9/2021 6:36:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

RICHMOND, Va. - The Duke volleyball team opened the 2021 spring slate with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23) sweep over VCU Tuesday evening in Richmond, Va.

With the win, the Blue Devils build on their fall record (7-2) and hand the Rams their first loss of the young spring season (5-1).

"It was very exciting to see our team compete today," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "We haven't been practicing very long this spring, but it was very helpful to get this opportunity so early. It gave us a chance to see where we are and what we need to do to get ready for ACC competition in March."

On the defensive end, junior libero Mackenzie Cole became the 24th Blue Devil in program history to reach the 1,000-dig plateau with her 25-dig performance. Cole now owns 1,008 career digs in a Blue Devil uniform. Franky Harrison also added 15 to limit the Rams to just a .123 hitting percentage for the match.

The Blue Devils hit .283 percent as a team and were led by Ade Owokoniran and Gracie Johnson with 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Johnson registered just three errors to hit an impressive .310 while Lily Cooper added eight kills and just one error on 12 attempts for a whopping .583 clip. Harrison also produced at a high level with six kills to hit .500.

As one of the top blocking teams in the country during the fall, Duke wasted no time getting back to business at the net with 16 block assists for 8.0 total team blocks. Cooper and Georgia Stavrinides each tallied four blocks.

Setters Alex Springate and Camille Nazor split time dishing the volleyball in Richmond with 17 and 12 assists, respectively. Duke also racked up four service aces.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair that featured three Blue Devil set points. Duke was unable to close it out until Owokoniran's fourth kill of the early contest to give Duke a 1-0 lead heading into the second frame.

Cole tallied back-to-back aces to start the second set to help propel Duke into an early 13-4 lead. Duke's blocking was on display this set as six different Blue Devils registered blocks, headlined by Owokoniran's six kills and two block assists.

"We had a solid team effort today and the second set was very efficient in our serve and block," Nagel said.

Duke held a solid 15-11 lead in the third and what would be the final frame before a 4-0 VCU run, forcing Nagel into a timeout. The Rams tied it up (23-23) with their fifth total team block of the game, but Duke came out of a timeout swinging. Harrison set up a perfect pass for Springate to dish her 17th assist of the game as Johnson knocked it down to give Duke the dub.

"In the third set, we made some unforced errors early on," Nagel said. "It was really nice to see our team be in that situation and fight through to win the set and clinch the match in three."

The Rams were led by Lauren King with 10 kills to hit .233 percent.

The Blue Devils will be back in action Wednesday, Feb. 17 to take on Appalachian State at 6:30 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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

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