DURHAM – Following a 3-0 weekend at the Duke Invitational, the Duke volleyball team will make the short trip to Elon, N.C., to take on the Phoenix Tuesday. Opening serve is set for 6 p.m., in the Schar Center. Fans can follow along via FloSports ($).
LAST TIME OUT
Duke went 3-0 during its opening weekend against ETSU (3-1), Northeastern (3-1) and East Carolina (3-0). Gracie Johnson paced the offensive contingent with 48 kills (4.36 kills/set) while Lizzie Fleming hit an impressive .521 in three matches with 29 kills and just four errors. Setter Devon Chang dished 130 assists (11.82 assists/set) while Johnson tallied 14 aces.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES
Duke leads the all-time series 12-7 and won the previous matchup a season ago in Durham (3-0).
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX
Elon went 0-3 last weekend at the NC State Tournament – Colgate (0-3), Tennessee (1-3) and NC State (1-3). Jordan Gower leads the CAA and ranks No. 2 in the country with 6.36 digs per set. She has three 20-dig performances this season. CAA Preseason Player of the Year Leah Daniel leads the Phoenix in kills (74) and kills per set (3.36). She ranks No. 5 and No. 6 in the CAA in the two categories, respectively. Sydney Love is second on the Phoenix with 40 kills, 28 of which came at the NC State Tournament. Love is also second on the team in blocks (12.0). Haylie Clark’s 143 assists lead the team and rank No. 6 in the CAA. The defending CAA Setter of the Year posted a season-high 36 assists Elon’s last match against NC State.
ACE, ACE & ANOTHER ACE
As a team, Duke is sixth in the country in total aces (55) and is led by senior Gracie Johnson with an impressive 19 through six matches. Johnson ranks 10th in the nation in aces per set (0.83) and leads the ACC. Her seven aces against East Carolina (9/3) is third nationally in a three-set match. Nikki Underwood (9), Rachel Richardson (8) and Madison Bryant (7) round out Duke’s steady presence at the service line. Duke tallied 12 aces in back-to-back matches against ETSU and Northeastern.
KADEL KNOCKS IT DOWN
Sophomore middle blocker Rylie Kadel has been impressive in the early season. Over the weekend, she saw action in all 11 sets and knocked down 21 kills to hit .333 percent. She also tallied five aces, nine digs and 15 blocks to lead the unit at the net. Kadel is fourth on the team this…
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