Duke Hits the Road to Open ACC Slate

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team is set to open its ACC schedule on the road this weekend at Boston College and Syracuse. The Blue Devils will face the Orange Friday at noon before a 1 p.m., match in Chestnut Hill against the Eagles. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX.

LAST TIME OUT

The Duke volleyball team captured its ninth straight win with two victories last weekend over Winthrop (3-1) and Harvard (3-0). Freshman Taylor Atkinson helped guide the Blue Devils to the victory over the Crimson as she led the team with 14 kills and only three errors to post a .355 hitting percentage. She also led the team in aces (four) and added two blocks in her all-around performance. Senior setter Camille Nazor reached the 1,000-assist plateau with 32 assists and now owns 1,006 career dimes. She also tied her career high in aces (three) and added three blocks against Harvard.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES

Boston College

Duke is 23-3 all-time against Boston College but are 2-2 since 2019. The Blue Devils are 9-2 all-time in Chestnut Hill.

Syracuse

Duke is 7-6 all-time against Syracuse. The two squads met twice a season ago and split the games.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Boston College

The Eagles are 11-3 in the early fall and 0-1 in conference play after dropping a 3-2 decision at Syracuse Wednesday. Boston College is led offensively by Alayna Crabtree with 135 kills, followed by Katrina Jensen with 120. As a team, the Eagles are hitting .272 percent this fall to rank third in the ACC and 26th nationally. The Eagles’ primary setter, Grace Penn, owns 323 assists while Anna Murphy has 166 digs to her name. As a team, the Eagles have 126.0 total blocks to rank 10th nationally and are led by Julia Haggerty (60) and Kate Brennan (53).

Syracuse

Syracuse enters Sunday’s match 5-6 overall and 1-0 in ACC competition after securing a five-set match over Boston College Wednesday. Offensively, 2021 second team All-ACC honoree Polina Shemanova leads the way with 164 kills for 3.81 kills/set and a .224 hitting clip. Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk is close behind with 153 kills. The Orange rotate between two setters in Lauren Woodford (236) and Riley Hoffman (184) and feature three players with over 100 digs.

NATIONAL RANKINGS

Duke is near the top of the Division I national rankings in two categories in the early fall: No. 9 in total aces…