There’s no place like home.
Finally returning to Cameron Indoor Stadium for two consecutive ACC matches, Duke played solid defense and limited errors in consecutive victories this weekend against Maryland and Boston College.
In Friday night’s 3-2 victory against the Terrapins (12-5, 3-2 in the ACC), the Blue Devils won the first set 25-22 but lost the second 25-21 before pulling away with a definitive win in the third set 25-12. The team failed to keep up the momentum, however, and dropped the fourth set 25-23 before finishing the last set 15-10.
“I felt we started off a little slow and weren’t responding to some things as quickly as we are capable of, and we weren’t necessarily controlling the ball like we are capable of,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “As the match went on, we had better communication and better services, and we played tough and really worked together as a team.”
All five sets brought out the similarities and defensive strengths of both teams, and the match had long rallies, a high number of digs—90 for Maryland and 107 for Duke—and a total of 34 tied scores and 13 lead changes.
Since both teams boast strong defensive play, Friday’s contest was decided by the number of errors committed by each team. The Blue Devils (13-2, 5-0) posted three errors in every set except the fourth. Maryland had only three errors in both the second and the fourth set—which the Terrapins won—but six or more errors in each of the rest.
“It was definitely a battle, and Maryland brought a great team, and it’s very difficult when the other team gets so scrappy,” said senior middle blocker Becci Burling, who posted 14 kills and 10 digs in Friday’s match. “It definitely makes the game much more intense, and it’s a show of character when we can pull it off. Those are always the best games to win.”
A two-point loss in the fourth set evened the match score at 2-2, and Duke knew it needed to garner momentum for the fifth set to seal its fifth consecutive conference victory.
“[Game 4] was unnecessarily close, and we didn’t finish like we should have, and we didn’t have the energy that we needed to have,” said junior middle blocker Amanda Robertson, who contributed 16 digs in addition to her team-high 19 kills. “I knew we had to get it, and we played like we knew how to play and had fun, because when we’re relaxed and having fun, we play our best. It was a great way to finish.”
A day after the almost two-and-a-half-hour-long match against Maryland, Duke faced Boston College (8-10, 0-5), winning the match 3-1.
Junior setter Kellie Catanach posted a team-leading sixth double-double in Saturday’s match. She racked up 46 assists, 10 digs, five kills and a .500 hitting percentage, helping the Blue Devils to a solid four-set victory against the Eagles.
Duke held a .351 hitting percentage, with three players posting double-digit kills to combine as a team for 59 compared to the Eagles’ 40. The Blue Devils completed the first set with only one error, but slipped up in the second set with six errors before bouncing back with a 9-1 closing run in an errorless set three. Despite another six errors in the fourth set, the team managed to clinch the match with a 25-14 win.
With five straight ACC wins under its belt, Duke now sits in a tie for first place in the conference standings. The Blue Devils will host in-state rivals North Carolina and N.C. State at home this weekend.
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