Duke Outlasts Iowa in Five Sets

Saturday, August 28

Conway, S.C.

1 PM

Duke University

2-0,0-0ACC

Iowa

0-1,0-0Big Ten

Iowa

Duke

Duke Outlasts Iowa in Five Sets

8/28/2021 6:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – It was another five-set marathon in Conway Saturday as the Duke volleyball team secured a 3-2 (16-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13) victory over Iowa at the HTC Center. With the win, the Blue Devils improve to 2-0 in the early season, both of which went to five sets.

Lizzie Fleming, Gracie Johnson and Ade Owokoniran combined for 43 of Duke's 55 kills to spearhead the offense. Setter Alex Springate assisted on 47 of the kills, a career high, as libero Mackenzie Cole picked up 17 digs. Fleming registered just one kill to hit .393 percent as she finished the weekend with 26 kills and averaged a .429 hitting percentage. The San Francisco, Calif., native also got it done on the defensive end with three blocks.

"Our Blue Devils showed resilience this weekend," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "We were challenged greatly, had our backs against the wall at times and kept battling. I'm really excited to see this type of response from our team so early in the season. Time and time again different individuals were taking big swings, passing a great ball in a critical situation and our block/defense and offensive coverage kept us alive when we needed it. An excellent team effort."

Much like yesterday, Duke got off to a rocky start in the first set despite four different Blue Devils collecting blocks at the net.

Duke completely flipped the switch in the second set to dominate 25-14. As a team, the Blue Devils hit an impressive .536 percent with 16 kills and just one error. Johnson helped spark Duke's offense with five kills and two aces.

The two squads battled in the third set as Iowa jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. Duke responded with its own 5-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. The Hawkeyes registered their third block of the frame for a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth.

Johnson and Owokoniran combined for 10 kills and just one error in the fourth as Springate dished 14 assists to help the Blue Devils tie the match (2-2).

Springate connected with Johnson for her 16th kill of the match to help Duke hold a 6-3 lead in the fifth. The Hawkeyes answered with a 4-0 run to tie it up at eight, forcing Nagel to call timeout. Duke refocused and came out with a 3-0 run to lead 11-8, spearheaded by Johnson's third ace of the game and her 18th kill. Two setting errors allowed the window to open for Iowa (13-13) as Duke called its final timeout. It was Fleming who put away her 12th kill of the day to give Duke the dub.

The Hawkeyes were led by Amiya Jones with 11 kills while setter Bailey Ortega dished 45 assists.

Duke will have a quick turnaround by welcoming Elon Tuesday, Aug. 31 for a 6:30 p.m., match in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

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

#GoDuke