Since losing to Florida State two weeks ago, Duke has been on a tear, blowing out Clemson and Georgia Tech last weekend, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively.
The momentum that the Blue Devils (19-4, 11-2 in the ACC) have gained will be crucial for their upcoming matches against N.C. State and North Carolina. The Wolfpack (13-12, 3-10) have struggled this season, and the Blue Devils will likely have little trouble with their conference rival today at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. Head coach Jolene Nagel made sure to warn, however, that overlooking the away match could be detrimental to the team.
“The team is pretty good at dealing with the task at hand,” she said. “The girls know that we need to take care of business one match at a time.... We cannot look straight ahead to Saturday before taking care of business [tonight].”
The focus this weekend, though, lies within the North Carolina match that is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. in Chapel Hill. This will be the second meeting between Duke and North Carolina (20-6, 11-2) this season. In the teams’ first encounter, the Blue Devils swept the Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 25-20, 25-12, 25-16.
Despite those high score differentials, the second meeting between these rivals is expected to be much more competitive. North Carolina has not dropped a home match since its home opener Aug. 27 when it lost in straight sets to then-No. 1 Penn State.
“I used to be an assistant coach there,” Nagel said. “I know exactly how loud the gym can be and how crazy the atmosphere gets during these Duke-UNC rival matches. I feel it will be a particularly difficult this year especially after the way the first match played itself out. I think they are going to be absolutely ready for us—they will bring everything they have and five-times more.”
Attacking was one of the strong points for the Blue Devils in their first meeting against the Tar Heels. Duke hit over .300 for the match, and the team recorded 45 kills with only 11 attacking errors.
Junior Amanda Robertson, who led the Blue Devils that day with 10 kills, thinks Duke’s performance in that match is crucial to the team’s confidence heading into Carmichael Arena this weekend.
“We will definitely keep the first match in mind as a confidence booster because we know we can beat them,” Robertson said. “But we know that we need to stay on top of our game and be the aggressors for this match. We cannot let them take the match to us.”
On the opposite side of the net, Duke’s defense played a tremendous role in the defeat of North Carolina. The Blue Devils held the Tar Heels to poor hitting percentages including -.062 in the third game. The defense is anchored by freshman libero and former ACC Freshman of the Week Ali McCurdy. McCurdy recorded 12 of the team’s 44 digs to lead all players. Big blocking at the net also proved to be a major factor in the first victory.
“Any opportunity that the girls at the front—whether it’s a block straight down or soft touches—helps the defense a lot,” McCurdy said. “A big block [or dig] can really shift the momentum and put the opponent out of their game.”
As of today, Duke and North Carolina share the same ACC record, but the Blue Devils hold the tiebreaker over the Tar Heels. A win would give Duke the tiebreaker for the season and the inside track to winning the conference.
“We can’t afford to lose any more matches and, come Saturday, we will have to prove ourselves in order to beat a good UNC team,” Robertson said.
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