After being snubbed last season and shut out of the NCAA Tournament, the volleyball team began the year looking to prove that it deserved its preseason No. 1 ACC ranking.
Maryland, however, has proven otherwise this season. The Terrapins (17-1, 8-1 in the ACC) swept Duke, 3-0, Sunday to remain in a tie for first place in the conference as the Blue Devils (11-5, 5-4) slipped to fifth.
Duke won its other match of the weekend, defeating Boston College, 3-1, Friday in Boston. The Blue Devils completed their recent road swing with a 1-3 record.
Although the Blue Devils fell in three games against Maryland, they lost each of the first two games by just two points.
Duke built an early 8-3 lead in the opening game, but the Terrapins battled back and assumed a 26-20 lead. The Blue Devils fought off three game points, but a kill by Maryland middle blocker Rachel Wagener put the Terps up 1-0.
Neither team was able to build a significant lead in the second game and the two ACC foes were tied at 29. But head coach Jolene Nagel said, just as in the first game, Blue Devil unforced errors cost Duke the chance to win.
"We weren't able to get on runs, we would get a kill, then we would have an unforced error," Nagel said.
The Blue Devils were held to a .171 hitting percentage.
Nagel said the first two closely-contested games took an emotional toll on her team, and the Blue Devils' service game broke down at the start of the third game. Maryland took an a early 6-1 lead, from which Duke never recovered, losing 30-18.
Carrie DeMange recorded her 13th double-double of the season, netting 17 kills and 11 digs, while Ali Hausfeld's 37 assists led the team.
"DeMange was on fire and Ali did a good job setting," Nagel said.
In Friday night's game, Hausfeld earned her second career triple-double, tallying 12 digs, 70 assists, and a career-high 11 kills, and helped Duke get back on track after it had lost its previous two ACC road matches.
The Blue Devils edged the Eagles (6-11, 1-7), as the two teams battled in four games that were decided by a total of eight points.
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