Duke Hosts Michigan State, Michigan This Weekend

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke volleyball team returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium for its final tuneups before conference play begins. The Blue Devils will host Michigan State Friday before Michigan on Saturday for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Both matches are slated for 6:30 p.m., on ACCNX.
 
Last Time Out

• Duke went 1-2 over the weekend at the Penn State Invitational — the Blue Devils defeated Princeton (3-2) before falling to No. 3 Penn State (3-0) and St. John’s (3-1). 
• Rachel Richardson led the offensive front with 31 kills while Kerry Keefe posted a .276 hitting percentage. Setter Grace Penn dished 68 dimes while Mailinh Godschall tallied 27 digs in two games. Rylie Kadel led the blocking unit with 12 total blocks.

A Closer Look at the Series
 
MICHIGAN STATE
Duke and Michigan State meet for the seventh time in program history as the all-time series is tied, 3-3. The Blue Devils tallied a 3-0 sweep against the Spartans a season ago in East Lansing. 
 
MICHIGAN
Duke and Michigan meet for the ninth time in program history as the Wolverines lead the all-time series, 5-3. The Blue Devils have won the last two meetings, both going to four sets.

Scouting the Opponents

 

MICHIGAN STATE

Michigan State is 4-1 in its last five matches, earning wins over Marist, Loyola Chicago, Eastern Michigan and Purdue Fort Wayne. Akasha Anderson leads the team with 55 kills (3.44 kills/set) over that span on .211 hitting, while Taylor Preston is close behind with 50 kills (2.94 kills/set) on .288 hitting. Middle blocker Evie Doezema has been efficient offensively during this stretch hitting .500 with 27 kills on 48 attempts. Nalani Iosia has averaged 4.59 digs/set and is on pace for a career-year in digs with a career-high 4.19 digs/set for the season. As a team, the Spartans are hitting .246 percent this fall. 

 

MICHIGAN

With wins over Sacramento State, Akron and Oakland at the Michigan Invitational last week, the Wolverines improved to 9-0 on the season. U-M swept the Hornets on Thursday (Sept. 12) with a .340 hitting percentage and held Sacramento State to .032. With 140 kills on the season, Allison Jacobs leads the team and has almost 30 percent of the team’s kills thus far. She led the Wolverines in kills in all three matches at the Michigan Invitational and eclipsed the 20-kill plateau twice for the…