Returning home after a four-game road trip when the Blue Devils went 3-1, the volleyball team is set to face off against North Carolina. The two teams will meet tonight at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Picked as the ACC preseason No. 1, Duke split its first two ACC contests. The Blue Devils lost their conference opener, 3-1, to Clemson, and followed that with a 3-1 win over Georgia Tech-the Yellow Jackets first home loss since 2002.
Duke (7-3, 1-1 in the ACC) begins a three game home stand tonight, with in-state foes N.C. State and Wake Forest next on the docket. The Blue Devils are attempting to break a streak of ten straight losses to UNC.
"It's going to be a huge game," sophomore middle blocker Carrie DeMange said. "I'm definitely looking forward to it. I think we just need to focus-stay mentally into the game because you can easily chicken out and psyche yourself out."
The team witnessed what a lack of focus can do against Clemson Sept. 23. Particularly for the younger Blue Devils, the loss reminded the team of how difficult ACC competition can be, head coach Jolene Nagel said.
"We made some errors during some crucial moments," Nagel said. "You know, there's sometimes during a game-you never want to have any errors-but there's sometimes when you can afford it a little bit better than others."
Serving, blocking and communicating are three things that Nagel said the team has been working on this week in practice and will need to do effectively in order to defeat UNC.
The Tar Heels (7-5, 2-0) are coming off 3-0 sweeps of Virginia and Virginia Tech last weekend and are looking to improve their all-time record against Duke to 49-39.
The efforts of DeMange and sophomore setter Ali Hausfeld will be crucial to the success of the team. DeMange has already earned ACC Player of the Week honors twice this season and boasts 187 kills and 55 total blocks through ten games.
Hausfeld leads the conference with 501 assists and is well on her way towards last year's total of 1,399, which placed her fifth in the Duke record books.
Both played some of their best volleyball last year against the Tar Heels, including Hausfeld's triple-double in the two teams' first meeting.
"We definitely thought we could have beaten UNC last year," Hausfeld said. "We really felt like we had a chance and it kind of got away from us, so we're trying to prove this year that we can definitely beat them."
If DeMange continues her streak of five straight double-doubles, and Hausfeld and junior outside hitter Tealle Hunkus add on to their totals of four each, then the Tar Heels may be headed for their first ACC loss of the season.
"Every team is ready to beat us and they're bringing their 'A' game," DeMange said. "I feel like it's just a challenge that we need to take up-just step up and take the challenge from them."
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