Johnson Reaches Milestone as Duke Defeats Wake Forest, 3-1

Friday, November 3

Durham, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

16-8,7-6ACC

Wake Forest

16-8,7-6ACC

Wake Forest

Duke

Johnson Reaches Milestone as Duke Defeats Wake Forest, 3-1

11/4/2023 10:11:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM - Graduate student Gracie Johnson reached another milestone as the Duke volleyball team defeated Wake Forest, 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-13), Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke improves to 16-8 overall, 7-6 in the ACC and has won five of its last six matches.

Johnson was sensational on both sides of the ball with 20 kills and just four errors to hit .471 percent to go along with 14 digs, four aces and two blocks. With her performance, she became the 13th player in program history to collect 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

Kerry Keefe tallied 19 kills to hit .410 percent as Duke hit .305 percent as a team. Setter Emma Worthington dished 46 dimes, while three players — Lizzie Fleming, Rachel Richardson and Jess Robinson — collected four blocks to lead the defensive charge. Duke totaled nine aces, its second-most this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke tallied five quick aces in the first set but couldn't hold off Wake Forest's best hitting percentage of the match, .361 percent, as the Blue Devils dropped the opening frame.
Trailing 1-0, it was all Duke the rest of the match.
Duke responded with an impressive .467 hitting percentage in the second frame, its best of the match. Johnson knocked down eight kills and no errors on 10 swings while Keefe added six. The defensive unit also started clicking as Robinson tallied three blocks to spearhead the group at the net.
Duke's offense continued to settle into its rhythm in the third and fourth sets as Duke combined for 27 kills and just six errors.
The Blue Devils locked in on both sides of the ball in the fourth set and limited the Demon Deacons to a negative hitting percentage (-.071) en route to victory.

NOTABLES

This was head coach Jolene Nagel's 699th career victory and the 496th at the helm of the Blue Devils. She is just one win away from becoming the ninth active Division I head coach with 700 career victories.
Duke leads the all-time series, 61-19 and has won 15 of the last 17 meetings.
With her four aces this evening, Johnson owns 160 for her career to rank fifth in program history. She has tallied at least one ace in 78-career contests.
Johnson tallied 20 or more kills for the 18th contest in her career.
This was Duke's eighth game this fall hitting over .300 percent.
This was the 10th time this season Duke's opponent has hit below .200 percent.
Keefe has tallied at least 10 kills in all but three matches this fall.
Tonight was Johnson's 26th-career double-double performance.
This was Duke's eighth four-set match this year. It is 4-4 in those contests.
Wake Forest was led by Ava Carney with 14 kills.