Duke Falls at No. 10 SMU

DALLAS – The Duke volleyball team was swept 3-0 (16-25, 18-25, 22-25) by No. 10 SMU Friday evening at Moody Coliseum. 
 
Offensively, Duke was led by Kerry Keefe with a match-high 18 kills while Grace Penn tallied 26 assists. Libero Mailinh Godschall added 15 digs. 
 
The Mustangs held Duke to a .220 hitting percentage while hitting .389 themselves. SMU finished with eight blocks to Duke’s one, its fewest in a match since 2021. The Mustangs also tallied seven service aces to the Blue Devils’ three. 
 
 
How it Happened

• The first set was even at 4-4 before a three-point run by SMU opened a lead it would not relinquish. The Mustang advantage was never less than two points for the remainder of the set. 

  • Duke scored consecutive points just twice after tallying its first two of the set and did not have a run of three-straight points during the set. 
  • SMU was aided by its .455 hitting percentage and three service aces during the set. 

• SMU kept the pressure on in the second set with an early 3-1 lead, but Duke answered to go ahead 4-3. The set featured ties at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before the Blue Devils edged out front 8-6. 

  • From there, however, the Mustangs pulled ahead for good with a seven-point spurt to gain a 13-8 lead. 
  • The advantage got as large as 20-10 for SMU before a mini-Duke run made it 23-17. The Mustangs closed it out with a block and kill. 

• Duke jumped out to leads of 4-2, 5-3 and 7-4 in the third…