Duke’s four seniors are ferocious on the court. That much is apparent from the two ACC titles and three NCAA tournament appearances they have racked up in their collegiate careers.
But what might not be apparent is that in addition to their success on the court, they’ve been dancing their way to victory these last four years.
“We have a dance party every time after the coaches come in and talk with us,” setter Christina Falcone said. “Even before that, we just blare music and just all have a dance party.”
Over the years, seniors Falcone, Rachael Moss, Brittany Staffeil and Juliana Traut have helped the program gain prominence, in addition to regaining dominance in the ACC. Since the seniors joined the team back in 2006 as freshmen, the team has gone 96-24.
But this particular group has come to distinguish itself from previous classes not just by winning, but because it is rhythmically gifted.
The four seniors, who refer to themselves as “D-10,” began their musical tradition as a study break freshman year. Then, it just seemed to evolve.
“We started the dance party in Bell Tower rooms,” Moss said. “The first thing we’d look for in a room was a sound system, and we’d find a way to hook it up and we’d study for 40 minutes. Then we’d just have a huge dance party-study-dance party. And then we brought it to the locker room.”
Since 2006, the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Cascada and even Disney’s Mulan have been blasted in the locker room with the team singing along, and of course D-10 leading the vocals. This year’s song of choice is Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the USA”.
In addition to the pregame tunes, D-10 leads other regular chants to keep team morale high. Wednesday entails a team dance chant that is referred to as “The Hump Day Chant.”
Throughout these four years, the group’s off-the-court antics have been driven by their desire to perform.
Juliana has been a ballet dancer, Brittany is a break dancer, Rachael directs, and Christina acts. In fact, when Moss made a short film last year, she had her teammates ready to star in the film.
On top of that, the group has a variety of different music interests. For example, Falcone prefers country while Moss loves techno. Traut leans towards rock and Staffeil has hip-hop for her music of choice.
While the seniors hope to keep the pregame music party a team tradition, they also desire to leave behind an enriched sense of team unity and community.
“Every team I’ve been on since freshman year of high school, while there have been exceptions, we’ve all been really close and we brought that with us,” Moss said. “And it’s more so than on-the-court stuff.”
Head coach Jolene Nagel commented that the seniors this particular year are big on team building and that their leadership, both on and off the court, has helped create great team chemistry.
“One defining thing is they understand the importance of having fun while they work hard and that comes off to the others as well,” Nagel said.
While the team has the postseason ahead of it, the motivated student-athlete in the girls has allowed them to look to their futures after volleyball. Traut plans to work for Goldman Sachs starting in July. Moss hopes to be heading off to law school with a potential directing career down the road. Falcone and Staffeil are looking at medical school following a gap year.
No matter where its members go after graduation, D-10 hopes to leave behind a fun legacy that will continue to unite the locker room for years to come.
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