Duke welcomes home crowd, familiar court

Duke opens its home schedule today against Campbell after splitting a pair of matches against Colorado State and Colorado in the Coors Rocky Mountain Challenge last weekend.

And after traveling hundreds of miles back and forth from the Rocky Mountains, Duke is glad to be back on familiar ground. The Blue Devils will continue their non-conference schedule against a Fighting Camels squad that got swept in straight sets in each of their first three games.

After playing No. 17 Colorado State and facing more than 6,300 hostile fans Friday, squaring off against Campbell (0-3) at 7:00 p.m. in the friendly confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium might not seem like much of a challenge. Like Duke (1-1), the Fighting Camels have gone out of their way this season to face top-notch competition. They faced Villanova, North Carolina and defending national champion No. 1 Penn State in the Carolina Classic August 27-28 in Chapel Hill.

Additionally, Campbell won’t have to contend with the fatigue from traveling cross country. The Blue Devils didn’t get back from Colorado until 6:30 p.m. Sunday after traveling for the better part of a day. The Camels will have none of that jetlag.

Head coach Jolene Nagel thinks the energy of the home fans will counteract the travel fatigue. Additionally, Nagel said a favorable, and likely smaller, home crowd might also make Duke more consistent by removing the nerves that come from playing in front of the huge crowds at the Colorado schools, where the volleyball games have large, boisterous student sections.

“When the home team begins to get momentum, the crowd really gets excited,” Nagel said. “That can make a really big difference. The Cameron Crazies can help us score points—they can get the other team intimidated.”

After an offensively inconsistent weekend in Colorado, the Blue Devils—who hit .346 in winning games compared to .080 in those they lost—will need to be more consistent in order to have a chance to win. Duke feels that shouldn’t be a problem, now that the team has had a chance to shake off some of the rust from the offseason.

Several Blue Devils have seemingly already found their peak form, most prominently senior middle blocker Becci Burling. In the Blue Devils’ last match, Burling matched her career-high with 18 kills and leads the team with 30 through two games. Middle blockers Amanda Robertson, a junior, and sophomore Christiana Gray lead the team in hitting percentage after big games against Colorado. Some in the back line have also performed well so far, including freshman Ali McCurdy, who has played like a veteran and made her mark early by contributing 29 digs. McCurdy has even outpaced preseason All-ACC libero senior Claire Smalzer, who has 23. Junior setter Kellie Catanach—another preseason All-ACC pick—has done a solid job setting up the team’s offense and has 97 assists in nine sets this season.