Head coach Jolene Nagel preached efficiency heading into the ACC opener against Wake Forest, and the Blue Devils executed the game plan almost perfectly, shutting down the Demon Deacons with precise attacking and stalwart defense.
Duke swept Wake Forest 3-0 Friday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium behind a season-best .317 hitting percentage—and showed it had learned from last weekend’s loss to No. 12 Minnesota that snapped an eight-match winning streak.
“We were really tight in that [Minnesota] game,” Nagel said. “We didn’t communicate that well…. I thought we could have moved the ball around a little bit more offensively, not in set selection necessarily, but as hitters. Then we also tried to improve a couple defensive things as well.”
Duke (9-2, 1-0 in the ACC) certainly did a better job of offensive distribution Friday, as five Blue Devils posted seven or more kills, led by junior Amanda Robertson’s 15 kills on 22 attacks. Sophomore Christiana Gray wasn’t far behind with 11-for-15 attacking—a mark that propelled her to an ACC-best .431 hitting percentage on the season.
Both middle blockers teamed with senior Becci Burling to stymie Wake Forest (6-4, 0-1) on the defensive end as well. Robertson had 12 digs, good for her second career double-double, and Burling chipped in 11.
The trio used its height to combine for 10 blocks and helped hold the Demon Deacons to a .136 hitting percentage for the game. Duke has prevented eight of its 11 opponents from breaking the .200 barrier this season.
“We’ve been really working on trying to stay more disciplined, staying lower on defense… and giving great effort,” Nagel said. “I felt like our team definitely did that tonight and we just have to… do that every time we step out on the court.”
Freshman libero Ali McCurdy also continued to play a key defensive role, racking up a team-high 20 digs. She entered the game as the reigning ACC Freshman of the Week and is averaging 4.56 digs per set, one of the top marks in the conference.
Wake Forest never found an attacking rhythm with McCurdy anchoring the back of the court and the middle blockers clogging the net with their length. The Demon Deacons fell behind 20-12 in the first set after the Blue Devils went on an 8-2 run. Duke connected on 21 of its 34 attacks in the set—winning 25-16—and showed little sign of letting up when the second set began.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the second, feeding off six kills by Robertson in that span. Duke maintained no less than an eight-point lead the rest of the way, taking the set 25-15. Robertson finished the period with an impressive .889 hitting percentage on 8-for-9 attacking.
Wake Forest finally sustained some momentum in the third set, winning the first three points and beginning to tighten up defensively.
“They came out firing away,” Burling said. “They were fired up and I think that we responded very well with keeping our composure and just taking care of business.”
The Blue Devils needed much more time to put the Demon Deacons away in the final set, however, as they committed nine attack errors overall and had four of their attack attempts blocked.
“We really wanted to put together three solid games, and I feel like that broke down just a little bit for us,” Nagel said. “We gave away some points there. We weren’t being as aggressive, and they did good job of stopping whatever we tried during that time.”
Nevertheless, Duke still found itself on top 23-21 in the final stages, thanks in large part to Wake Forest’s seven attack errors. Two kills from Becci Burling sealed the 25-22 win and gave the Blue Devils their first ACC victory in dominant fashion.
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