Although the venue and opponents differed from last weekend, the end result was all too familiar for the volleyball team. The Blue Devils (4-8) received a cold reception at this weekend's Gamecock Invitational, falling in three tightly contested matches to Santa Clara, George Washington and host South Carolina.
"Our team has a mixture of older and younger players, and we're still trying to find the right chemistry," Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. "Right now we need to work on communication, both verbal and nonverbal, to try to eliminate errors in our game."
Duke began its weekend Friday morning against struggling 17th-ranked Santa Clara, a team on the losing end of three straight matches entering the weekend's tournament. The Broncos eked out a tight 33-31 victory in the first game, but the Blue Devils rebounded, winning the second game 30-24. The momentum shifted in the Bronco's favor from that point on, as Santa Clara capitalized on Duke's errors to take games three and four, 30-23 and 30-22, respectively.
"We see just how well we can perform, but then we watch as we hurt ourselves with errors. We had seventeen service errors in that one match. We need to try to eliminate that," Nagel noted.
Duke looked to turn things around that evening as the team matched up against South Carolina (5-6). In the first game, which saw 15 tie scores and 10 lead changes, the Gamecocks prevailed, winning 30-28. South Carolina cruised through game two, in which Duke posted only eight kills, en route to a 30-23 victory. The Blue Devils battled back from a six-point deficit in game three only to lose the game and match in heartbreaking fashion, 30-28.
"Those two 30-28 losses are difficult," Nagel said. "There are important times in the match where it is critical we minimize our errors, and we weren't able to do so."
The Blue Devils hoped a good night's sleep would help them Saturday as they went up against the George Washington Colonials (10-2). Duke dominated the first two games, out-hitting a Colonial team that posted negative attack percentages in both games, as Duke cruised to victory in convincing fashion 30-21, 30-17. The Blue Devils squandered an opportunity to win the match in game three, falling 31-29 against a determined Colonials team.
"We were loose, confident and communicating well against George Washington, but they began to make adjustments," Nagel said. "They served a little tougher, and we got a little tight."
George Washington rebounded from an early deficit in game four to win 30-21, forcing a fifth and deciding game. Once again, the Blue Devils emerged on the losing end of the score, falling 17-15 in yet another close match.
The weekend was not without its bright spots, as senior Krista Dill--fresh off her 1,000th career kill last weekend--posted a personal-best 12 blocks, her first double-double of the season, and notched a spot on the all-tournament team.
The Blue Devils will once again be on the road next weekend, as they open up conference play against the Maryland Terrapins Friday and the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday.
"The team has been forced to play a very competitive schedule," Nagel said. "It is not easy what we're going through, yet we remain optimistic. We are developing more as a team, going through a period of soul searching, and we are better because of it. This is ultimately going to help us compete in the ACC."
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