Drawing their biggest crowd of the year Friday night for a matchup with North Carolina, the Blue Devils did not disappoint, taking down the Tar Heels with a 3-1 victory.
A packed student section at Cameron Indoor Stadium-comprising a majority of the 1,751 fans in attendance-cheered the Blue Devils on as Duke (21-3, 14-1 in the ACC) kept its top spot in the conference and bested its Tobacco Road rival.
"This is probably the best crowd we've ever had here, which is amazing because when we were over at Carolina, the crowd was just as big," junior Ali Hausfeld said. "We're undefeated at home, so obviously the crowd really helps us here. We love playing in Cameron-it was so great to have so much support tonight."
With the win, the Blue Devils extended their home court win-streak to 28 and contributed a half a point to Duke's 4.5-1.5 lead over North Carolina in the Carlyle Cup.
"We're excited to be able to get through that match and get another 'W' under our belt," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "We're really excited that we had the crowd here that we did-the band, the cheerleaders, the Blue Devil and all that great stuff."
After taking the first game 30-21, Duke battled point for point with the Tar Heels (6-18, 4-11) in the second game. When North Carolina brought the score to within two at 24-22, Duke rallied for a 6-1 run to seal the game, 30-23.
Game three also started as a back-and-forth battle, but Duke let down as Carolina steadily accumulated a 28-23 lead. The Blue Devils, however, refused to give up and fought back to 29-26.
Resounding kills by freshman Rachael Moss and sophomore Jourdan Norman brought the crowd to its feet and the score within one, but the Tar Heels were ultimately able to hold off the Blue Devils' comeback and hold on for the 30-28 victory.
"We were frustrated that we had given them that game and given them hope that they could come out and beat us because we really felt like we were the better team," Hausfeld said. "They came out and played strong in game three, but we definitely knew that's how we should be playing the whole game."
Duke regrouped and regained its momentum in the fourth game to blow out the Tar Heels, 30-12. With the score 9-7 in the Blue Devils' favor, Duke went on a 19-3 run to pull away and win the match.
Moss had one of her best performances of the season, finishing the match with a career-high 23 kills and 20 digs. Setter Hausfeld evenly distributed her match-high 58 assists, as Norman, Carrie DeMange and Sue Carls each racked up double-digit kills with 11, 15 and 10, respectively.
Duke dominated the net on the defensive end, finishing the night with a team total of 11 blocks to North Carolina's two. Libero Jenny Shull anchored the defense with 23 digs, while sophomore Aana Wherry added 12 of her own.
Duke continues its trek into the second half of the ACC schedule with a match against Wake Forest-which is currently fifth in the conference-at home Tuesday.
"They're a tough team," Hausfeld said. "It's good to build up this kind of confidence right now.. Just beating UNC obviously gives you a lot of confidence because it's such a rivalry. But going into Wake Forest, that's going to be good for us."
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