The road has not been friendly to Duke's volleyball team this season. This past weekend its struggles continued as it dropped its first two ACC matches of the year and completed a winless seven-game road trip.
On Friday night against Maryland (12-3, 1-0 in the ACC) the Blue Devils lost 3-0 in a match that was controlled by the Terrapins. Duke (4-10, 0-2) had trouble keeping up from the start. Falling behind 27-20 in the first game, Duke rallied behind senior Tassy Rufai and pulled within two points, only to lose 30-27.
"We made errors in crucial situations and let them go on runs," said Rufai, who led the Blue Devils with 13 kills.
Duke dropped the next two games 30-21 and 30-23, snapping its four-match win streak against the Terrapins.
The Blue Devils then traveled to Virginia for an afternoon match against the Cavaliers (17-1, 1-1). While the end result was the same, the match was closer and could have gone either way.
Duke won the first game 30-26 behind freshman Nana Meriwether's career-high 18 kills. After dropping the second game, the Blue Devils rebounded to take a 2-1 advantage by holding off Virginia 30-28 in game three.
Having lost their first match of the season on Friday night to Wake Forest, the Cavaliers would not go away without a fight. They won game four and outlasted Duke 15-7 to win the fifth and deciding game.
"In game five it is only to 15 points, so you definitely need to minimize your errors," said Rufai, who recorded her fifth double-double of the season. "We had too many of them. By the time we got together it was too late."
It has been hard, meanwhile, for the Blue Devils to synch up with much consistency, thanks to a grueling schedule.
"Playing four weekends in a row on the road has not been easy," Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said.
The Blue Devils return home to play Wake Forest Tuesday night before going away to Florida State this weekend.
"The ACC is very competitive," Nagel said. "Any match on the road in the ACC is not an easy situation to be in for any team."
While Duke continues its hunt for its first road victory, there was optimism about the remainder of the season.
"We're continuing to learn all the time. We have a quality team," Nagel said. "When we go out there on the court we are getting better every time, which is exciting to see."
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