Duke Falls to No. 16 Purdue in Season Opener

Friday, August 25

West Lafayette, Ind.

7 p.m.

Duke University

0-1,0-0ACC

Purdue

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Duke

Purdue

Duke Falls to No. 16 Purdue in Season Opener

8/25/2023 9:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Duke volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2023 slate Friday night as it fell at No. 16 Purdue, 3-1 (19-25, 28-26, 19-25, 14-25), at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue had a trio with double-digit kill efforts and hit .296 percent as a team. Chloe Chicone led the way with 19 kills, while Raven Colvin played to a .688 offensive clip.

The Blue Devils were led by sophomore Kerry Keefe and graduate student Jess Robinson with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Robinson hit an impressive .500 percent for the match in her Blue Devil debut.

Graduate student setter Emma Worthington dished 39 assists and led the team with 12 digs and four kills in her first match as a Blue Devil. At the net, Robinson led the way with four blocks while Rylie Kadel and Keefe added three each. Graduate student Gracie Johnson tallied three aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Boilermakers opened the contest with a 1-0 set lead as they hit .333 percent in the first set and limited the Blue Devils to a .182 clip.
Duke trailed by as many as four in the second set but battled back to tie it at 21. After a Purdue timeout, Duke saw four set points but couldn't quite capitalize on an opportunity. Robinson got it done on both sides of the ball late in the set as Worthington set up a nice ball in the middle for her to tally her seventh kill of the game before she put up a big solo block to end the set.
Robinson hit .636 percent in the first two sets with seven kills and no errors, while Keefe added six and no mistakes.
Purdue found its rhythm in the third set with a .310 hitting percentage with 12 kills and just three errors to take a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth frame. Robinson led the team in the third set with two blocks and finished the match with four.
Leading 2-1 heading into the fourth set, Purdue hit .304 that was sparked by an 11-2 run. Duke struggled to settle into its offense and was limited to a .000 hitting percentage.

NOTABLES

Duke moves to 39-14 all-time in season openers and 17-8 under head coach Jolene Nagel.
Worthington tallied the first double-double of the season with 39 dimes and 12 digs.
With her three aces tonight, Johnson now owns 124 for her career to rank 10th in program history.
Duke struggled at the service line with 21 errors.
Keefe had 11 kills to her name and no errors until the start of the fourth set.

QUOTE

"Our team played in front of a loud crowd tonight on the road and I thought we did so with composure. I was pleased to see us settle in and control our first touch as the match went on. I thought our block worked hard at the net." - head coach Jolene Nagel