Duke Travels to No. 4 Louisville, Notre Dame

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team is primed for the first of two consecutive weekends on the road, beginning with No. 4 Louisville Friday and Notre Dame Sunday. First serve against the Cardinals is set for 7 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m., match in South Bend Sunday. Both contests will be streamed on ACCNX.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Duke fell to North Carolina, 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 20-25, 19-25), Sunday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  Duke was led offensively by Gracie Johnson with 16 kills and just six errors to hit .217. She also added three aces, eight digs and two blocks. Rachel Richardson added 11 kills while setter Devon Chang dished 47 assists. Georgia Stavrinides led the blocking unit with six blocks, followed by Taylor Atkinson and Rylie Kadel with five and four, respectively. Libero Nikki Underwood added 13 digs.
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES
LOUISVILLE
Louisville leads the all-time series 10-6 and have won seven consecutive. The last time Duke captured a win in Louisville was October 2, 2016.
NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 11-9 and had collected three consecutive wins before Duke snapped that streak a season ago at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
LOUISVILLE
Louisville checks in as the No. 4 team in the nation this week and are 18-2 overall and 9-1 in the ACC. The Cardinals snapped a 13-match win streak Sunday with a 3-2 setback to No. 8 Pitt. Louisville has one of the most efficient offenses in the country and ranks among the top nationally in numerous categories, highlighted by its hitting percentage (No. 4) and blocks per set (No. 3). As a team, Louisville is hitting .302 this season and is led by Claire Chaussee with 259 kills and a .310 clip. Setter Raquel Lazaro has dished 674 dimes while Elena Scott owns 280 digs to pace the defense. At the net, Amaya Tillman has tallied 98.0 total blocks as the Cardinals have limited their opponents to a .168 season hitting percentage.
NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame enters Sunday’s contest 9-11 overall and 4-6 in the ACC but have lost two consecutive, including dropping a 3-0 contest at Virginia over the weekend. The Fighting Irish are led by Avery Ross with 191 kills and Kaylyn Winkler with 150 kills and a .251 hitting percentage. Notre Dame’s main setter, Phyona Schrader, has 627 assists to her name while Hattie Monson has collected…