After six games last season, the volleyball team posted a record of 2-4.
This year has been a completely different story, however, as the Blue Devils improved to 4-2 on the season by winning two of three matches in this weekend's Duke Classic held in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke opened the tourney with a win over Ball State, 13-15, 11-15, 15-13, 15-8, 16-14, Friday night. It then split two matches on Saturday, defeating Coastal Carolina, 15-12, 15-1, 15-7, but falling to Nevada, 7-15, 15-3, 15-11, 15-8.
"Overall, I thought Megan Irvine, Jami Ediger and Sarah Peifer had a really solid weekend," coach Linda Grensing said. "It was great that we could use our group of starters but the whole bench played a key role as well."
The highlight of the weekend for the Blue Devils was their five-game victory over Ball State. Before this weekend, Duke had dropped nine straight five-game decisions, dating back to Oct. 1996.
"The difference in our team this year is that we have a group of players who are very calm in that fifth-game situation," Grensing said. "We have a group of kids that are mentally a lot stronger than we were at any point last year."
Duke appeared to be out of the match after losing the first two games and trailing 12-4 in the third. At this point, the Ball State coach decided to clear his bench thinking the match was in hand.
Much to his dismay, the Blue Devils rallied to win 11 of the next 12 points and the game, 15-13. At 12-8, the Ball State starters returned but they could not slow the Blue Devils' run, which was led by freshman Pam Gottfred, who served 10 of the final 11 points.
"Volleyball is a lot different from other sports," Grensing said. "You can't just run out the clock. One serve or one kill can completely change the momentum in a match, and that's what happened Friday night."
Duke's momentum was not lost heading into the fourth game, which it dominated for a 15-8 win. The final game remained even throughout, with Ball State earning a match point at 14-13. The Blue Devils dug deep and took the next three points, and the match, leaving the Ball State players, and their coach, in disbelief.
Duke was led by freshman Ashley Harris, who recorded 17 kills, and sophomore Nina Ryback, who dished out a career-high 68 assists.
"Ashley really does not play like a freshman," Grensing said. "She is playing at a very high level and had a great weekend."
The result of Saturday night's championship match was not as favorable for Duke, who fell to Nevada in four games. The Blue Devils, who were led by Peifer's 16 kills and 17 digs, looked to be in control after taking the first game by a 15-7 count.
Nevada quickly rebounded and won the next game easily, 15-3. Duke could not seem to gain any momentum after that loss and dropped the next two games and the match.
"I think we kind of took our success for granted going into the last match," Gottfred said. "We thought Ball State was the best team and we did not respect Nevada as much as we should have. Nevada played great defense; everything we hit they seemed to get back."
On Saturday afternoon, Duke took care of Coastal Carolina without much trouble. Coastal jumped out to a 10-2 lead in game one, but the Blue Devils responded by winning 28 of the next 31 points of the match. Peifer once again led the way for the Blue Devils with 13 kills in the three games.
Although Duke did not win all three matches, it was certainly a productive weekend. All 11 of Duke's players saw action, with junior Chrissie Lukasiewicz and freshman Bryn Gallagher recording some key blocks on the front line.
"The bench played a big role for us," Grensing said. "We had some players come in and get some key points for us when we really needed it."
Peifer was solid as usual, recording 45 kills over the entire tournament. She and Irvine were named to the All-Tournament team.
Freshman Sarah Stephens played quality minutes in the front line, rotating in and out with Gottfred. Gottfred's presence in the back row added another setter in the lineup and helped take some of the pressure off Ryback's shoulders.
The most impressive freshman was Harris, who started every game of the tournament. She was not afraid to swing away on big points and also had some impressive digs.
The Blue Devils will take their 4-2 record on the road next weekend when they play in the Georgia Invitational hosted by the Bulldogs.
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