Duke Falls to No. 10 Pittsburgh

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team dropped a 3-0 match (10-25, 23-25, 11-25) to No. 10 Pittsburgh Friday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

How it Happened

• The Panthers hit .322 percent for the match to secure their 13th win of the season. 
• The Blue Devils were led offensively by senior Gracie Johnson with 12 kills while graduate setter Devon Chang dished 25 assists. Duke won the battle of the block with 16 blocks, led by four Blue Devils with four: Rylie Kadel, Georgia Stavrinides and Kerry Keefe. 
• Pitt opened the match hitting .333 percent and limited Duke to a negative percentage to take an early 1-0 lead. 
• Duke regrouped after the set break and put together a series of runs, causing Pitt to scramble. Trailing 17-12, the Blue Devils went on a 6-0 run to take an 18-17 lead. Six tie scores later, Pitt’s block came alive at the right time to shut down Duke’s momentum late in the second. 
• Julianna Dalton and Courtney Buzzerio paced Pitt’s offense in the third frame with .800 and .750 hitting percentages, respectively. 

Notes

• Duke drops to 9-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
• Duke falls to 8-14 all-time against Pitt.
• Johnson tallied double-digit kills for the 10th match this season.
• The Blue Devils tallied just one ace, a team who averages over two per set.
• Duke’s .053 hitting percentage was a season low.
• Kadel has tallied four or more blocks in six of the last seven matches.
• The Panthers were led by Buzzerio with 10 kills and just one error to hit .562…