Sophomore setter Ali Hausfeld tipped the ball over the net, it fell to the hardwood floor of Coach K Court, and a 10-game losing streak was over.
The team erupted in celebration after its 15-11 win in the fifth game of a back-and-forth match against rival North Carolina last night. Duke (8-3, 2-1 in the ACC) delivered the Tar Heels their first conference loss of the season, 3-2.
After leading 2-1 against North Carolina (7-6, 2-1), Duke dropped the fourth game giving the Tar Heels the momentum. But UNC could not take advantage, never owning a lead in the final game. UNC got within one at 10-9, before sophomore middle blocker Carrie DeMange killed a ball that landed just on the line. After another kill and two consecutive Tar Heel mistakes, Duke was up 13-9. A few plays later Hausfeld, whom the Tar Heels were expecting to set the ball, redirected a teammate's bump to the other side of the court for the win.
"It's always nice to beat UNC in anything we do, and it's just awesome right now that we won," DeMange said. "But it's definitely not over because you know the next time we play them they're going to come right back at us."
Many of the players had career games. Freshman middle blocker Jourdan Norman missed a triple-double by just one block and one dig. Libero Jenny Shull was one of seven Blue Devils who set or tied career highs in assists, kills or digs. Shull's total of 37 digs was the second highest in Blue Devil history.
"They came cross court a lot to me," Shull said. "They were pretty much going right to me. It felt pretty good and I was able to read them, which is a main part of the game because if you're not reading the hitter then you're not able to get right to the ball and set up the setter for a good swing."
Duke let the Tar Heels stay in the match by surrendering game four. Down 22-24, Duke managed to tie the score at 27-27-three points away from winning the contest. Instead, three points later North Carolina had claimed a 30-27 win in the fourth to push it to a decisive game.
To avoid late game collapses, like the Blue Devils experienced last weekend, the team emphasized breaking each game into five-point increments, Shull said.
"Last week against Clemson, we would do that and lead and then in the last ten points Clemson would come back and beat us," she added. "So, our goal this week was we're going to push at the end, we're going to have the stamina in this game and we're going to make sure that we do it."
Duke did just that in the games it won. With the two teams either tied or within a few points near the end of the game, the Blue Devils put streaks together to secure the win. But in the games Duke lost, the Blue Devils owned the lead into the 20's, only to lose it at the end.
"In game five, I thought that we did a good job of being aggressive, continuing to be aggressive," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "And we didn't make a whole lot of errors in that game five, so that was great too."
The win puts Duke in a tie for third place in the ACC behind Maryland (12-0, 3-0) and Clemson (7-3. 2-0). With games this weekend against N.C. State and Wake Forest, the Blue Devils could crack double digits in the win column Sunday night.
"I think one thing we're going to work on a little bit is trying to make sure we're in good shape," Nagel said. "I think this week we just had a lot going on outside of the gym too, you know, with studies and everything. But I want to make sure we stay strong and continue to get stronger."
The Blue Devils face off against N.C. State tonight at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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