After a shaky road trip this past weekend, Duke is happy to be back in the comfortable confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils (15-7, 9-4 in the ACC) look to record two big conference wins this weekend, taking on Virginia first, Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Virginia Tech Saturday at 7 p.m.
When Duke traveled up the Atlantic coast to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers and the Hokies earlier in the season, the Blue Devils went into five sets with both teams but did manage to pull out two wins. This time Duke will look to utilize its home-court advantage, which has led to a 10-1 at home this season, with the team’s only loss coming to San Diego nearly two months ago.
“It is always a big advantage to play in Cameron,” Nagel said. “And to hopefully have our students and the local volleyball community there because we have been doing really well with our support and attendance all year.”
Virginia (8-15, 2-11) is coming off a tough weekend road trip in Florida, losing in straight sets to both Miami and Florida State. Simone Asque leads the Cavaliers with 303 kills followed by Jessica O’Shoney who has 230. Virginia Tech (13-11, 6-7) is also coming off an unsuccessful road trip to Miami and Florida State, losing both matches in straight sets as well. Cara Baarendse leads the Hokies with 250 kills.
Prior to the weekend, head coach Jolene Nagel will provide motivation for her team by reminding them about its disheartening straight-set loss at Clemson last weekend. The first time Duke faced the Tigers this season, the Blue Devils won in five sets at home. During the week, Nagel made a point that her team’s showing last Friday against Clemson was uncharacteristic of her squad.
“I’m not sure how that happened at Clemson, but we just cannot let that happen again,” Nagel said. “I want them to forget about [the loss to Clemson], but at the same time I don’t want them to forget about it.”
Nagel was proud, however, that her team was able to turn around and beat Georgia Tech 3-1 Sunday. Duke, which now holds fourth place in the ACC, hopes to maintain momentum from that victory and build off the Clemson loss by defending their home court against two conference foes.
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