Duke Opens ACC Play with No. 8 Pitt, Virginia

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team (9-2) is set for the start of ACC action this weekend with No. 8 Pitt and Virginia. The Blue Devils will face the Panthers Friday at 6:30 p.m. before a 1 p.m. contest Sunday against the Cavaliers. Both matches will be broadcast on ACCNX. 

LAST TIME OUT

• Duke swept Coastal Carolina and Santa Clara to close out non-conference action over the weekend at Cameron Indoor Stadium. It was Duke’s ninth straight victory as the Blue Devils have swept their opponents in five of the last six outings.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES

PITT 

Duke and Pitt meet for the 23rd time in program history as the Panthers lead the all-time series 14-8. Duke has lost six consecutive and is 3-6 at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Pitt.

VIRGINIA

Duke and Virginia meet for the 71st time in program history as the Blue Devils lead the all-time series 57-13. Duke has won 27 of the last 28 meetings and is 29-6 at home against Virginia. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

• Pittsburgh enters Friday’s contest 9-2 overall as the No. 8 team in the nation. Offensively, the Panthers are led by Olivia Babcock with 110 kills and a .374 hitting percentage while Torrey Stafford has 102 kills to her name. Setters Rachel Fairbanks and Haiti Tautua’a have dished 188 and 132 dimes, respectively, while Valeria Vazquez Gomez leads the team in aces (16). Libero Emmy Klika leads the defensive effort with 135 digs while Emma Monks leads the blocking contingent with 45.0. As a team, Pittsburgh is hitting .295 percent to rank 12th nationally while its 116.5 total blocks is 23rd nationally. 

VIRGINIA 

• Virginia owns a 7-3 overall record this fall and most recently fell to Wofford (3-1). Abby Tadder and Lauryn Bowie lead the offense with 120 and 116 kills, respectively, as Tadder is hitting .362 percent. Setter Ashley Le owns 368 dimes and leads the team with 19 aces while libero Milan Gomillion has collected 152 digs. As a team, the Cavaliers are third in the ACC with 97.5 total blocks and are playing to a .224 team hitting percentage.

NEXT MATCH

Duke travels to Miami (Sept. 29) and Florida State (Oct. 1). The match against the Seminoles will be on ACC Network. 

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