Duke Splits Two at Penn State Invitational

Friday, September 13

State College, Pa.

10 AM

Duke University

4-3,0-0ACC

Princeton

2-2,0-0Ivy League

Duke

Princeton

Duke Splits Two at Penn State Invitational

9/13/2024 10:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

University Park, Pa. – The Duke volleyball team split its two matches Friday at Rec Hall. The Blue Devils outlasted Princeton, 3-2 (21-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-17, 15-12), before falling to No. 3 Penn State, 3-0 (9-25, 15-25, 15-25).

Duke Remains Strong, Takes Down Princeton in Five

Senior outside hitter Rachel Richardson tallied her first double-double of the 2024 season with a career-high 17 kills and 12 digs to help spearhead Duke to its five-set victory. Richardson added three aces and two blocks to her all-around performance.

Kerry Keefe added 15 kills as setters Grace Penn and Nikki Quinn combined for 51 assists as the Blue Devils assisted on 63 of their 65 kills.

Libero Mailinh Godschall led the team with 13 digs to Nikki Underwood's 12, while Breonna Goss led the blocking unit with three total blocks. Goss also hit .471 percent with nine kills and just one error – her fourth time this season hitting above .400.

How It Happened

Princeton opened the match hitting .364 percent to take an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers also racked up seven total blocks to keep Duke on its heels.
The Blue Devils continued to find any offensive rhythm with a .051 clip as the Tigers continued their strong start with a .312 percentage.
Trailing 2-0, the Blue Devils regrouped after the set break and turned the tables.
In the third set, Duke hit .387 percent with 15 kills and just three errors as Richardson led the way with five.
The Blue Devils continued their dominance to even the match, 2-2, in the fourth set as Keefe led the way with four kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Duke was held without a block until 21-11 in the third set – four different Blue Devils registered a block in the fourth set to put the brakes on Princeton.
Taylor Williams connected on two aces, while Duke continued to hit over .350 percent to help spearhead Duke to victory.

Notables

It marked head coach Jolene Nagel's 706th-career victory and her 504th at the helm of the Blue Devils.
The all-time series evens at 2-2.
It marked Duke's first "reverse sweep" since October 30, 2022, against Notre Dame.
Duke moves to 2-0 in five-set matches this fall.
Rylie Kadel was held without a block for the first time this season.
The match featured 19 ties and seven lead changes.
Williams finished the match with a career-high four aces as the Blue Devils finished with a season-high 12.
Princeton was led by Kamryn Chaney with 19 kills and 15 digs.

Duke Falls to No. 3 Penn State

Penn State features the sixth-best hitting percentage in the nation, and that was on full display this evening at Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions finished the contest hitting .482 percent, their best this season and the ninth-best team hitting percentage in Division I (as of 9/12).

Camryn Hannah, Jess Mruzik and Maggie Mendelson combined for 29 kills and just five errors to lead the Nittany Lions.

Duke was led by Richardson with eight kills, while Keefe and Ngozi Iloh added seven and six, respectively. Libero Godschall collected 13 digs, while setter Penn dished 13 assists to Millie Muir's eight.

How It Happened

Penn State opened the match swinging to hit .407 percent and collected four blocks, keeping Duke on its heels with a .000 clip.
The Nittany Lions continued its impressive match with a .452 percentage in the second set to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Richardson led the offense with four kills while Rylie Kadel added two blocks.
Trailing 2-0 heading into what would be the third and final set, Duke couldn't find an answer to one of the best teams in the nation. Penn State used an outstanding .593 third-set percentage with 17 kills and just one error to sweep the Blue Devils.

Notables

Duke has now dropped 11 consecutive matches to Penn State.
Duke is 0-2 against ranked opponents this fall.
Duke's .132 hitting percentage for the match was its second-lowest of the season.
Godschall tallied two aces, moving her season total to 12.

Next Match

Duke will close out the weekend with St. John's Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

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

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