Duke Welcomes North Carolina Sunday

DURHAM – The Duke volleyball team is primed to take on North Carolina Sunday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Opening serve is set for 1 p.m., on ACCNX with Evan Budrovich and Hailey Brooke Weiss on the call.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Duke tallied a 3-1 victory (25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18) over NC State Wednesday evening at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The stat sheet was filled and balanced across all categories as three Blue Devils tallied double-digit kills and double-digit digs. Senior Gracie Johnson once again led the Blue Devils with 22 kills, her ninth career match with 20 or more kills and the third consecutive. She added two aces, seven digs and four blocks in her all-around performance. Johnson was joined by Kerry Keefe and Rachel Richardson with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Setter Devon Chang dished 49 assists while Nikki Underwood collected 20 digs. Rylie Kadel, Georgia Stavrinides and Johnson each added four blocks at the net.
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SERIES
North Carolina leads the all-time series 55-66 dating back to 1971. The Tar Heels have won seven of the last eight meetings and Duke last won at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2017.
 
SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina is 12-8 overall and 4-5 in conference play after recently collecting a 3-0 win at NC State Friday evening. The Tar Heels are led by Mabrey Shaffmaster and Charley Niego with 280 and 218 kills, respectively. Setter Anita Babic owns 627 assists while four players have tallied 100 or more digs this season. At the net, Kaya Merkler spearheads the blocking contingent with 76 total blocks. As a team, North Carolina ranks fifth in the ACC in total kills (980) and is eighth in hitting percentage (.218). Sunday’s contest will be a battle of the serve between the top two serving teams in the ACC. The Tar Heels hold a slight advantage (146) at the service line and are led by Austin Parker who is second in the conference behind Gracie Johnson with 38 aces.
 
NEXT MATCH
Duke will travel to No. 2 Louisville and Notre Dame next weekend.
 
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