After suffering its only loss of the season last weekend, the Duke volleyball team (12-2, 4-2) lost again to Maryland (7-6, 3-2 in the ACC) on Friday. The Blue Devils then traveled and rallied to Charlottesville, Va. to beat the Virginia Cavaliers (5-8, 1-5) easily in three games.
Sophomore Krista Dill, who had 15 kills in the two matches this weekend, was disappointed in her team's performance Friday night.
"I think we did a good job preparing for Maryland, but we didn't use that preparation at all during the game," Dill said.
In the first game against the Terrapins, the Blue Devils looked impressive while Ashley Harris hit five kills en route to a 30-19 lead. During the break between games, Duke clearly lost its intensity. Setter Arielle Linderman could not quite pinpoint the problem, but once again thought lack of mental preparation hurt her team.
"We were sulking around the court," Linderman said. "It was completely mental. After we lost to UNC we felt like we couldn't lose again."
The Blue Devils lost the second game 25-30 and let up on defense, namely in the blocking department. After the Terrapins built an early lead, Maryland's middle hitter, Willette Dority, led her team with seven kills in the second game.
With the match knotted at one game apiece, Duke once again made too many unforced errors that cost them in the long run. This time, Maryland's key offensive threat was Carey Brennan, who dominated play in the 30-24 win, and also contributed six kills and two blocks.
"In the first game we played really well, we didn't make many errors," Dill said. "I don't know if we were playing not to lose or let up mentally. We shut them down in the first game and after they won the second game, they thought they could play with us."
Maryland used Duke's lack of defense to its advantage again in the fourth game, jumping ahead and keeping a lead until the end. Outside hitter Maria DiLivio took control with six kills in the third game, as her Terrapins won 30-27. Duke coach Jolene Nagel knew her team should have won, but also realized that its opponent was worthy of the win.
"Maryland played well," Nagel said. "You've got to give it your best shot every match and I didn't feel like we did that tonight."
The Blue Devils hit the road Saturday and entered Virginia's campus with a mission. Dill knew her team was better than they played Friday, and needed to show the Cavaliers.
"After the loss to Maryland, that was disappointing," Dill said. "We knew we expected to beat this team. We had higher goals than a loss to Maryland."
In impressive fashion, Duke won the first game against Virginia 30-19, a similar beginning to a match as Friday night. This time the Blue Devils kept their focus and used Harris and Jill Sonne to anchor the offense.
As a team, Duke had 12 blocks Saturday, stuffing most of Virginia's hit attempts and tipping many of them back to its defense, something that did not happen in its match with Maryland. Linderman said her team moved on quickly after the loss Friday and regrouped for the win.
"We definitely forgot about the Maryland game right away," Linderman said. "We blocked everything and our defense was a lot better against Virginia."
The second and third games were dominated by Duke's stellar defense and clutch hitting. In the 30-18 win in game two, the Blue Devils doubled Virginia's kill total by a margin of 14 to seven. Aside from hitting, the Blue Devils also had nine more digs than their opponents after disposing of the Cavaliers 30-24 in the final game.
"We played better defensively tonight," Nagel said. "We controlled the ball better when we had it on our side. It was definitely a team effort. A lot of people contributed."
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