The No. 24 Blue Devils traveled to Virginia hoping to cap off their season with two conference victories. Leave it to seniors Carrie DeMange and Ali Hausfeld to walk away with two new records.
When Duke (24-6, 19-3 in the ACC) took on Virginia and Virginia Tech (14-8, 8-14) last week, DeMange and Hausfeld each set the single-season records for kills and assists, respectively.
After knocking down 24 kills in the win over the Cavaliers (17-13, 12-9), DeMange also earned the title of Duke's all-time kills leader. With 568 kills on the year and 1,920 for her career, the middle blocker surpassed former Blue Devil Ashley Wacholder in both categories.
"It's absolutely huge, especially as a middle blocker," senior Jenny Shull said of DeMange's record-setting performance. "She never thought that she would even reach the record, so for her to break it just made it that much better."
Hausfeld is no stranger to records as she became Duke's all-time assists leader earlier in the year. The setter tossed up 106 assists during the two-game road trip, bringing her season total to 1,594. Hausfeld now owns the first, second and fourth-best single-season assists totals for the Blue Devils.
"They're just a dynamic duo," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "Whether it's Ali getting up there to run the transition, or Carrie coming through with a huge kill, they make great plays out of things others can't. They've set a very high standard that we hope to build upon."
Duke handily defeated Virginia Wednesday night 3-1 before turning around and sweeping Virginia Tech 3-0 two days later.
With the two victories, Duke finishes the season ranked second in the ACC behind No. 25 Clemson.
Outside of the record-breaking performances, Shull delivered another flawless performance-39 digs without a single error in the two matches.
With the seniors setting the pace offensively for the Blue Devils, the junior class provided the majority of the defense. Both middle blocker Jourdan Norman and outside hitter Aana Wherry each slammed down eight blocks during the two matches.
After suffering two straight losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson, Duke used the setbacks as fuel to finish the season in dominating fashion and swept three of its last four opponents. The strong performances paid off as the Blue Devils earned home-court advantage for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
Duke will kick off the postseason Friday against American. With their short stumble now behind them, the Blue Devils hope their renewed focus will key a long run in the NCAAs.
"When our serves are going in and we're spreading out the offense, we're playing disciplined volleyball," Shull said. "And when we're playing our game, no one can beat us."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.