N. C. State's very first serve slammed right into the net. The rest of the Wolfpack's night did not get much better.
Duke (20-3, 13-1 in the ACC) accelerated out of the gate against N.C. State (2-21, 0-14) with a 6-0 run and, aside from a rough second game, cruised the rest of the way, sweeping the Wolfpack 30-12, 30-24 and 30-16 Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The combination of Ali Hausfeld and Carrie DeMange proved especially potent, as Hausfeld had 32 assists and Demange knocked in 16 kills.
"Ali and I have been playing together for 10 years now." DeMange said. "We know each other pretty well, and it works."
Following the quick 6-0 run in the first game, N.C. State called a timeout to regain focus. For one point it worked, but the Wolfpack proved no match from there as Duke used another run, this time 9-3, to finish N.C. State off in less than 20 minutes.
The Blue Devils struggled in the second game as the teams traded points for several serves. The Wolfpack had found its confidence and Duke's communication started to break down.
"[N.C. State] started playing better," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "I didn't feel like we were running smoothly with our communication."
Several ties and hard-fought points later, Duke hung on to a 22-21 lead and N.C. State appeared to have dug itself out of its first-game hole.
The Blue Devils, however, would have none of it. They struck with a 7-1 run and a few serves later had the winning point.
The third game saw the struggles of the second game continue initially, as the teams tied seven times, knotting the score at 8-8.
The third game, however, ended the same way the first one began. Duke pulled out with a 14-3 run and had no trouble putting the Wolfpack away from there.
The win reasserted the Blue Devil's role as top team in the ACC after suffering their first conference loss at Georgia Tech last Friday.
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