With the No. 14 Blue Devils facing a potential second defeat at the hands of an ACC opponent, they turned to their senior class for guidance. And once again, Carrie DeMange and Ali Hausfeld pulled through and secured the 3-2 win for Duke.
Despite handily defeating the Seminoles 3-0 earlier in the season, the Blue Devils (20-4, 15-1 in the ACC) narrowly defeated Florida State Saturday 30-24, 25-30, 30-27, 28-30, 16-14.
When Duke was down 11-8 in the final game against the Seminoles (12-12, 9-7), the team called a timeout to reshift the gameplan back to the seniors. DeMange and Hausfeld took over, earning three straight kills to tie the score at 11. The duo then combined for nine points to push the Blue Devils ahead 16-14 and win the match.
"In Game 5, we had to pick it up and play up a notch," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "We could've gotten rattled and lost confidence [in Game 4], but we showed a lot of character by hanging in together as a team and fought back."
Hausfeld finished the day with 59 assists, 12 digs and eight blocks, including two in the final match. DeMange added 22 kills and 12 digs for a double-double.
While the seniors controlled the tempo on the offensive end, blocking was crucial for the Blue Devils to earn the victory. Duke outblocked Florida State 16.5 to 12, with DeMange and Jourdan Norman each swatting away six.
After starting the match with a dominant win in Game 1, the Blue Devils had difficulties handling the Seminoles' lineup change in the second frame, The hitting power of the Seminoles' Makini Thompson and Mira Djuric overwhelmed Duke's defense and recorded 14 combined kills.
After winning Game 3, the Blue Devils found themselves down eight. Though Duke eventually lost the match, the Blue Devils clawed their way back into the game thanks to an 11-5 run.
"We spotted them way too many points," Nagel said of her team's performance in the fourth game. "But we refocused and tied it at 28. Thanks to our comeback, we regained the momentum and hoped it would carry us over."
On Friday night, Duke posted a convincing 3-0 defeat over conference foe Miami (10-14, 4-11). Sophomore Rachel Moss led the team with 13 kills and 14 digs. The Blue Devils served 10 aces in the match, with Moss, DeMange, designated server Shelley Capito and libero Jenny Shull each contributing two.
Conference play continues for Duke, with the team traveling down south to take on Georgia Tech and Clemson Nov. 8 and 9, respectively. With the matchup against the Tigers, the Blue Devils will look to avenge their lone ACC loss of the season.
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