Playing back-to-back road games against top ACC opponents Georgia Tech and Clemson this weekend, Duke will need to capitalize on its defense and work on strong communication if it hopes to come away with two more conference victories.
The Blue Devils (9-2, 1-0 in the ACC) will first face the Yellow Jackets (7-5, 0-1) in Atlanta Friday night at 7 p.m. before heading up to face the Tigers (10-2, 1-0) in South Carolina Sunday evening.
“Georgia Tech has a very physical team, a very talented team, and we’re going to have to play our best in order to be successful down there,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “They have solid services, so it’s tough to get them out of system, and they put up a solid block and take good defense around it, so they’re just always coming back at you. We have to be able to communicate and control the ball in order to put the ball away on them.”
The Yellow Jackets were picked to finish third in the ACC and boast one of the top setters in the conference, senior Mary Ashley Tippins, who averages 10.27 assists per match while boasting a .321 hitting percentage. They also have the ACC’s top blocker, junior Asia Stawicka, who has posted 58 blocks so far this season.
After playing Georgia Tech, Duke faces a team similar to itself, Clemson. The Tigers are a young group, mostly made up of freshmen and sophomores, yet they lead the league in defense by holding opponents to a .135 hitting percentage. Clemson also has accumulated an ACC-leading 127 blocks.
“The main part of their team is freshmen and sophomores, but they don’t play like freshmen and sophomores,” Nagel said. “They’re very talented and were ranked very high in the ACC last year in blocking, and the entire team is ranked pretty high nationally in blocking right now. They have a blend of scrappy players and very physical players, and they do really well together, so it’s going to be a fight.”
In addition to playing two tough away matches, Duke must also adjust to playing in a different environment where the facilities are smaller and the stands are closer to the court. Both schools garner large crowds for volleyball games, and it’ll be a lot different from “playing in the comfy confines of Cameron,” as Nagel said.
However, the Blue Devils have two key advantages this weekend—they have junior middle blocker Amanda Robertson, who was named ACC Player of the Week and posted a double-double Friday against Wake Forest, and they are one of the top defensive teams in the conference, holding opponents to a .137 hitting percentage, the second-lowest in the ACC.
“We try to concentrate on defense, and we work very hard at it,” Nagel said. “We have some nice sized players, but we have to get on the floor as well and dig some balls, so that’s something we are working very hard at and very diligently at every day in practice.”
Following this weekend’s road stint, Duke returns to Durham for a four-game homestand against Maryland and Boston College Oct. 1-2 and North Carolina and N.C. State Oct. 8-9.
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