Over the last three seasons, Duke has dominated in ACC play, boasting an impressive 41-5 in-conference record. But after being held to a .108 hitting percentage by Wake Forest Tuesday-the Blue Devils' lowest offensive mark in two years-Duke looks to reestablish its offensive prowess against North Carolina Friday at 7 p.m. and N.C. State Saturday at 7 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke (10-5, 1-2 in the ACC) sits seventh in the ACC standings having dropped conference matches to Miami and Wake Forest in the last 10 days. Still, the Blue Devils are intent on digging themselves out of this unfamiliar position in the ACC's bottom half.
"We just had kind of an off night. I mean, you have those every once in a while with every team," senior Aana Wherry said of Tuesday's loss. "We're going to bounce back. We usually have a really strong offense, and I think that we're going to bounce right back this weekend and have another strong showing."
Of course, the team has been going through growing pains this year, having graduated three of its most talented players.
The loss of All-American middle blocker Carrie DeMange, standout libero Jenny Shull and All-American setter Ali Hausfeld has left the offense less consistent than it was in prior years.
But head coach Jolene Nagel is not worried about her team's ability to rebound.
"We've been really good this whole year," Nagel said. "Going into the last match [Wake Forest], we led the ACC in hitting percentage as a team. I think some nights, things don't go as you planned, and I think that was one of those nights. But I think if we can continue to pass the ball and communicate out there, our offense has been running pretty well."
Although the Blue Devils head into Friday's matchup with a rough offensive showing fresh in their minds, they can relax knowing that the defense is coming off a season-high 100 digs along with 11 blocks. Senior Jourdan Norman continues to rally up the blocks, and she enters Friday's match just four blocks shy of breaking the school record of 553 career blocks.
"Jourdan has just done an amazing job so far blocking, and I know she's going to keep doing an amazing job," Wherry said. "So those four blocks away-I don't think that should be a problem this weekend at all."
Nagel is also approaching a milestone. She is just one victory away from her 200th career win at Duke. But neither Nagel nor Norman pays any attention to these numbers.
"I don't even know our record normally," Nagel said. "I don't know how many blocks Jourdan needs, either. So, all we're doing is thinking about the next match.... It's just thinking about our next opponent and how we can be successful against them."
North Carolina (8-5, 2-0) has held opponents to a conference-low .135 hitting percentage, and N.C. State (8-9, 2-0) brings the reigning ACC Player of the Week, Aiwane Iboaya, who has both an impressive kill count and a team-leading 55 blocks.
Despite the competition, the Blue Devils feel they can regain their offensive groove-and set a few records in the process.
"I know that we just have a lot of things we need to work on as a team, like being disciplined," Wherry said. "And if we are playing well and we're all playing together, I think that we're going to be able to take it to 'em."
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