The volleyball team expected to have a tough time going into Saturday's match against 10th-ranked Notre Dame. Unfortunately for Duke, the Figthing Irish proved to be even better than advertised.
Notre Dame (15-1) jumped out to early leads in all three games as it cruised to a straight-set triumph, 15-8, 15-5, 15-9. The loss marked the second straight for Duke (5-9), which has dropped eight of its non-conference matches. The Fighting Irish, on the other hand, have won seven consecutive matches, including 31 of their last 32 at home.
Duke fell behind 9-1 in the first game before scoring four of the next five points. The Blue Devils stayed relatively close late in the game, but they were unable to recover from their slow start.
"We were basically trying to catch up the whole way," head coach Linda Grensing said. "I don't think we played competitively."
The second and third games went just as badly for Duke, as Notre Dame smashed the Blue Devils from the get-go in both. Duke showed character in the third game, rallying from an 11-1 deficit to pull within 12-9, but the Irish finished off the match with two kills from outside hitter Jaimie Lee and a service ace from middle blocker Carey May. The Blue Devils anticipated a strong opponent, but they may not have prepared themselves mentally for the challenge.
"I hate to say we were intimidated by them, but maybe that's what it was," freshman middle blocker Megan Irvine said.
Duke showed promise offensively, tallying a .231 hitting percentage against one of the nation's top teams. Irvine converted nine kills for a .533 percentage and sophomore outside hitter Maureen Reindl led the Blue Devils with 11 kills. But defensively, Duke turned in a weak effort, allowing Notre Dame to score almost at will.
"We played very poorly defensively, and we need good defense to win," Grensing said. "One thing that we had set as a goal at the beginning of the year was to be a very scrappy team on defense, and we were not scrappy at all."
Because the Blue Devils knew that springing an upset would be a difficult task, they had planned beforehand to use Saturday's match as a measuring stick and to try to improve themselves against top-notch competition. They had hoped at least to turn in a strong effort, but they ended up disappointed with their performance.
"I don't think we lived up to our goals on Saturday," junior Liz Neuhaus said. "We didn't pick up a lot of the balls that we should have, and we didn't hit as hard as we could have. I felt we were pretty flat."
Perhaps the biggest reason for Duke's poor play was the Blue Devils' lack of communication. In volleyball, defense relies largely on communication, and Duke failed not only to generate momentum, but also to play a team game. According to Grensing, in Saturday's defeat the Blue Devils lacked the proper attitude and the willingness to take charge.
"I don't think there was a lot of aggressiveness on our part," Grensing said. "I also don't think there was a whole lot of court leadership out there."
Duke, which has won four of its five Atlantic Coast Conference matches, will attempt to continue its success in league play next weekend when it takes on ACC rivals Virginia and Maryland.
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