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Volleyball falls in straight sets at No. 21 Duke

<p>Junior middle hitter Natalie Bausback had a team-high 12 kills in the Cavaliers' second loss to Duke this year. </p>

Junior middle hitter Natalie Bausback had a team-high 12 kills in the Cavaliers' second loss to Duke this year.

The Virginia volleyball team took a 23-22 lead in the third set against Duke Friday night, but it was too little too late as the No. 21 Blue Devils secured three straight points to take the set and match (25-14, 25-18, 25-23) for their 10th straight win.

The Cavaliers (11-9, 4-3 ACC) jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first set but were unable to recover after they allowed Duke (15-4, 7-1 ACC) to win eight of the next nine points. The Blue Devils hit .343 and held Virginia to a mere .028 hitting percentage in claiming the first set.

Virginia grabbed another 2-0 lead to start the second set, but this time the Cavaliers remained competitive as play progressed. Duke eventually took an 11-10 lead it would not relinquish for the rest of the set, except for a brief tie at 14-14.

The two teams went back and forth in the third set before Duke took six of seven points at 16-16 for a 22-17 lead. The Cavaliers countered with six straight points, but after a Duke timeout at 23-22, the Blue Devils seized what proved to be the last three points of the match.

The Cavaliers improved their digging from their Oct. 3 home matchup with Duke, also a straight-sets loss. They racked up 23 more digs this time, but the Blue Devils increased their own dig total by 15. The Cavaliers also committed nine serving errors in the match compared to eight earlier this month.

Friday, junior middle hitter Natalie Bausback led the Cavaliers with 12 kills on 24 attempts for a .417 attack percentage. She also assisted on four of the team’s six blocks.

Junior outside hitter Emily Sklar led Duke with 19 kills. Sophomore libero Sasha Karelov added 21 digs for the Blue Devils.

The Cavaliers return home Friday and Saturday to face North Carolina State and Notre Dame.

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