Winning two back-to-back five-set matches this weekend in what is arguably one of the hardest road tests in the ACC, Duke pulled ahead to the No. 1 spot in the conference ahead of Florida State, last year’s champions.
The Blue Devils (11-2, 3-0 in the ACC) defeated Georgia Tech (7-7, 0-3) 3-2 Friday night following a first set plagued with what head coach Jolene Nagel called “atypical errors” and a shaky third set with inconsistent serving. Duke ultimately came through 18-16 in the fifth set, but not before being challenged by the Yellow Jackets’ physicality.
“In that sort of environment when you’ve got such a great crowd, and the band’s there, it’s a pretty nerve-racking situation,” Nagel said. “Our team doesn’t quit, and it keeps fighting even when things aren’t going perfectly. Georgia Tech is a very athletic and physical team, an offensive team, and it’s a difficult environment to play in, and our girls just got it done.”
Following the trying match against the Yellow Jackets, Duke then faced Clemson Saturday, pulling through in a five-set thriller with continuous back-and-forth scoring.
“I think mentally and physically, we were tired, not awful, but enough to maybe where we gave up some points that normally we wouldn’t have, and we let them back into the game,” Nagel said. “In the fifth game, we were down 5-0, and in a facility where people are saying anything to you, the team just pulled together. They were like warriors, as far as I was concerned, and they just played together as a unit and helped each other out.”
This weekend’s victories proved to be key for the Blue Devils given the competitiveness within the conference. Georgia Tech is one of the biggest and most physical teams in the ACC, and Clemson (10-4, 1-2) went into Saturday’s match as the nation’s fourth-best blocking team.
According to Nagel, the upperclassman leadership, in addition to strong communication within the team, was crucial in bringing home two more conference victories.
Saturday’s match saw five Blue Devils post over 10 kills and three earn double-doubles, including junior Kellie Catanach, who posted her fourth double-double on the season. Senior Claire Smalzer had 12 kills and 24 digs and junior Amanda Robertson contributed 19 kills and 19 digs.
“We went into the weekend knowing it’d be tough, and we worked hard all week in practice and stayed focused from the beginning to the end and really tuned in the whole time,” Smalzer said. “As upperclassmen, we put it on ourselves to lead by example and be tough throughout and help our teammates in whatever way we can and stay positive.”
The Blue Devils will host Maryland in Cameron Indoor Stadium Friday at 7 p.m., followed by another home game against Boston College Saturday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.