Duke Travels to Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team is set for another ACC road weekend at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The Blue Devils will battle the Hokies Friday at 6 p.m., on ACC Network before a Sunday 1 p.m., contest in Winston-Salem. Sunday’s match will be available on ACCNX.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Duke went 1-1 on the road over the weekend, falling to No. 4 Louisville (3-0) before a come-from-behind victory at Notre Dame in a five-set match (3-2). Senior Gracie Johnson became the 28th Blue Devil to reach the 1,000-kill plateau with 20 kills against the Fighting Irish Sunday. Johnson led the team with 20 kills, 15 digs, three aces and two blocks while Rachel Richardson added a career-high 15 kills and 12 digs. Nikki Underwood collected 25 digs while Rylie Kadel added eight blocks to Devon Chang’s five. She also added a career-high 54 assists.
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES
VIRGINIA TECH
Duke leads the all-time series 34-5 overall and have won eight of the last nine meetings.
WAKE FOREST
Duke leads the all-time series 58-19 overall and have won 12 of the last 14 meetings.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
VIRGINIA TECH
Virginia Tech enters Friday’s match 10-14 overall and 3-10 in conference play following a 3-0 sweep over Wake Forest Wednesday evening in Blacksburg. The Hokies are led by Cera Powell with 219 kills this season, followed by Sydney Petersen (143) and Ava Francis (142). Setter Hanna Borer has dished 579 assists for just under seven assists per set while four different Hokies own 100 or more digs, led by Maddie Slagle with 309. At the net, the blocking unit is led by Cara Lewis with 83 blocks and Anabel Zier with 79, including 12 solo. As a team, Virginia Tech is hitting .189 percent this season, the third lowest in the conference, as its opponents are posting a .217 clip.
WAKE FOREST
Wake Forest is 13-11, 5-8 in the ACC and has lost six of its last seven matches, including a 3-0 setback at Virginia Tech Wednesday evening. The Demon Deacons are led by Paige Crawford with 235 kills and a .207 hitting percentage. Four other players have also tallied over 100 kills: Peyton Suess (192), Olivia Franke (162), Emmy Ogogor (161) and Ashley Slater (130). The Demon Deacons rotate between two setters in Rian Baker and Andrea Fuentes with 478 and 403 assists, respectively. Libero Emma Farrell owns 383 digs to rank second in the…