DURHAM, N.C. – No. 19 Duke handed Campbell its first loss of the season, 3-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-14, 25-22), Tuesday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Redshirt senior Alexis Hein led the Camels offensively with 13 kills, adding 10 digs and an ace. On the back line, junior Mary Crema registered 21 digs and four assists, while freshman Summer Schuitema posted 27 assists, 14 digs, and four kills.
Duke jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first set on the back of two Jordan Tucker kills, and never lost the lead for the remainder of the opening session. The Blue Devils then pieced together an 8-1 run to lead 23-8.
"We just started slow," head coach Greg Goral said. "We've been doing that a couple times now. I don't know if it's just getting the feel of our opponent, the style of play that they have, or the pace that they're going to have, but game one we weren't in rhythm. Duke's very good and they put the pressure on us early, they got a lot of quality kills."
The Camels went on a 3-0 sprint to close the gap to 24-11 before an Alyse Whitaker kill secured the set for Duke.
"Game two was different," Goral continued. "We had a different mindset. We were able to respond to their points with our own kills, and there was a bigger sense of urgency, more aggression, and we had a nice cushion at the end. Duke got close with a couple of big swings and I'm glad we responded and finished with a victory in game two."
It was the Camels' turn to open the second set 3-0 on a Lorin Thomas block and two Duke errors.
The score went back and forth with neither team leading by more than two until Campbell used a 7-1 run to lead 20-16. The run was fueled by kills from Hein, Jessica Groen, and Katelyn Layden, with an assist from Groen.
The Blue Devils attempted the comeback, reaching within one point of CU, but could never catch the Camels, who notched their 25th point on a Thomas kill.
Duke came back in the third set, opening with a 10-4 lead. The teams traded points until Duke went on a 7-1 sprint to widen its lead to 23-11.
Campbell came back with three-straight points, but it wasn't enough, as the Blue Devils took advantage of two Camel errors to close the set 25-14 and take the 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, Duke opened on a 10-1 tear using six kills and an ace. Campbell cut the lead to 24-22 on three straight points (a Hein kill and two Duke errors), but couldn't overcome the gap as Duke took the set, 25-22, and the game, 3-1.
The Camels hit the road for their second tournament this weekend at the Long Beach State Mizuno Invitational. On Friday, Campbell takes on the host at 2 p.m. EST and Sand Francisco at 8 p.m. EST. Competition wraps up Saturday as CU meets Army in an 8 p.m. EST game.
