OPENING SERVE
- Duke wraps up its four-match road stretch with matches at No. 3 Louisville on Friday, Nov. 15 and at Notre Dame on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Blue Devils are coming off back-to-back three-set defeats at No. 10 SMU and No. 1 Pittsburgh
- First serve on Friday evening is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. The Blue Devils then make the trip to South Bend, Ind, for a 1 p.m. match inside Purcell Pavilion.
LAST TIME OUT
- Duke was swept in both matches last week, falling to two top-10 opponents on the road. The Blue Devils fell to No. 10 SMU (16-25, 18-25, 22-25) and then dropped their road match at No. 1 Pittsburgh (10-25, 11-25, 13-25).
- Kerry Keefe led the offense with 25 total kills across the two matches, while setter Grace Penn tallied 38 assists to pace the Blue Devils. Libero Mailinh Godschall logged 23 digs for the weekend.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES
LOUISVILLE
- The Blue Devils and Cardinals meet for the 20th time overall, with Louisville holding the edge in the series, 13-6. Louisville has put together a string of success against Duke as of late, having won 10 consecutive matches, dating back to Nov. 5, 2017. Duke’s last victory over Louisville was a three-set win (25-22, 26-24, 25-25) on Nov. 4, 2016.
NOTRE DAME
- Duke enters Purcell Pavilion on a three-match win streak against the Fighting Irish. The overall series is tied, 11-11, and each of the last 11 meetings have gone past the requisite three sets. Duke is 5-3 against Notre Dame on the road but has alternated wins and losses across its last four trips to South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame’s last victory in the series came on April 2, 2021 – a four-set win by the Fighting Irish.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
LOUISVILLE
- Louisville moved up one spot in the most recent rankings, to No. 3 nationally, following road sweeps of Syracuse and Boston College. The Cardinals are 21-3 overall and hold a 13-1 record in the ACC, with the lone blemish coming at the courtesy of a five-set loss at Pittsburgh in late October. Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper both have tallied over 200 kills so far this season, with 267 and 237, respectively. Louisville ranks fifth in the ACC and 37th nationally with a .257 hitting percentage. On the defensive side of the net, the Cardinals are second in the league in total blocks (250) with Cara…
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