The women's volleyball team will face ACC-rival Wake Forest tonight at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the Blue Devils are a perfect 5-0 this season. Duke (9-3, 3-1 in the ACC) is riding a three-game winning streak and will try to make it four against the Demon Deacons (8-5, 1-3), who are coming off their first ACC victory.
"We play every ACC match like it's the same big game," libero Jenny Shull said. "We just have to keep this going because every match really does count."
The Blue Devils have had the upper hand in the matchup, sweeping the season series against Wake Forest last year and holding a 35-11 all-time record against their conference rival. Both teams, however, are coming off 3-0 wins over N.C. State and have not yet played each other in the 2005 season.
The Demon Deacons have struggled in a number of facets of the game this season, ranking 11th in the ACC in both kills and assists, and last in digs.
During its current winning streak, Duke knocked off Georgia Tech in Atlanta and also snapped its 10-match losing skid against archrival North Carolina.
In the five-game victory over the Tar Heels, Shull recorded 37 digs. The total was a career best for the sophomore and also the second-highest match total in Duke history.
"The individual stats are cool," Shull said. "But it's really just all about the team."
The Blue Devils opened their ACC season with a closely-contested 3-1 loss at Clemson and have since put an increased emphasis on finishing off their opponents. Head coach Jolene Nagel has also stressed that her team not underestimate its opponents during their string of recent success.
"I think we learned our lesson out of the gate," Nagel said. "We didn't play badly, but we didn't play our absolute best, and we came up short. That's still very fresh in our team's mind."
After the home match against Wake Forest, Duke will play four straight contests on the road, where they have struggled to a 4-3 record this season.
Brett Aresco contributed to this story.
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