Froehlich Shines Volleyball's in 3-1 Win at Duke

DURHAM, N.C. – Outside hitter AC Froehlich led LSU with a career-high of 14 kills and four aces to help LSU take down Duke 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23) Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

LSU improves to 3-1 on the season and 5-4 in the all-time series against Duke, who has dropped its third consecutive match to fall to 1-3. 

Following Froehlich was outside hitter Jurnee Robinson, who landed 13 kills and dug 11 balls for her fourth double-double to open the season. Right side Jade Demps was a kill shy of a double-double. She had nine kills and matched a career-high 17 digs. Demps also tied middle blocker Angie Lee for a team-high four blocks. Lee added six kills, and counterpart Jessica Jones finished with seven kills on 15 errorless swings for a .467 hitting percentage. 

Setter Bailey Ortega handed out 44 assists and had eight digs, three kills and an ace. Libero Aly Kirkhoff is the third Tiger to reach double-figures in digs at 13 and served her first career ace to end the match. 

Duke’s outside hitter Kerry Keefe led the Blue Devils with 13 kills, followed by middle blocker Rylie Kadel’s 10 kills and match-high five blocks.

LSU hit .178 in the match to Duke’s .177 but tallied eight aces to the Blue Devils’ one.

 Set 1

After both clubs worked their way to a 5-5 tie, Duke reeled off a 5-1 run to take a 10-6 lead and forced an LSU timeout. The Tigers put together an 8-4 run to tie the set at 14, but the Blue Devils pressured LSU to take its final timeout, pushing its lead back to 19-15. The Tigers stormed back out of the break and tied the frame at 22-22 highlighted by Froehlich’s second ace of the set and a pair of kills from Robinson. LSU took the lead 23-22 off libero Ella Hemmings’ ace, and LSU stole the set 25-23 after a kill from Robinson followed by a combo block by Robinson and Jones, closing the frame on a 6-2 run. Robinson led LSU with five kills and a block in the win.

Set 2

Duke opened the stanza with another early lead at 8-5. However, LSU evened the set with a 3-0 run, including an ace by Ortega. The Tigers took the lead at 11-10 thanks to a block by Demps and Lee, but Duke went into the media timeout with a 15-13 lead. LSU continued to battle and tied the set at 19 before a Duke attacking error gifted the visitors a 20-19 lead. The teams exchanged points to a 21-21 tie until a kill gave the Blue Devils a 22-21 advantage and forced an LSU timeout. Ortega scored on the setter dump to make the score 22-22, but Duke scored the final three points for a 25-22 win.  

Set 3

LSU needed an early timeout, trailing 4-2, but Duke continued to grow its lead to a 9-4 advantage. The Tigers cut into the deficit with four unanswered points and eventually took an 11-10 lead thanks to a kill from Froehlich. LSU led 13-11 behind an overall 9-2 run, and Duke signaled for time with the Tigers ahead 17-13. LSU’s lead ballooned to 24 -16, and LSU won 25-17. Froehlich dominated the set with seven kills on 17 errorless swings, and the Tigers finished the set with a .318 hitting percentage.

Set 4

Duke jumped in front early once again with a 4-2 lead, but the Tigers shook back and eventually took a 6-5 lead after a sliding kill by Jones. The Blue Devils stayed in the fight and grabbed a 13-10 lead when LSU called its first timeout of the set. LSU clawed back to tie the set at 16, but burned its final timeout after a block gave the home team an 18-16 lead. Duke built its lead up to 21-17 but called a timeout after a 3-0 run featuring two kills from Demps to make the score 21-20. LSU and Duke were locked at 22-22 when the Blue Devils used its final timeout of the set. With the score knotted at 23, Duke committed an attacking error, and Kirkhoff ended the match with her first career ace for the 25-23 win. Demps controlled the set for the Tigers with six kills, and Froehlich and Robinson followed with three each. 

Up Next

LSU continues its stay in North Carolina with a 3 p.m. CT match versus Florida International on Saturday, Sept. 6.

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