“We’re excited to play somebody other than ourselves,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “Unlike other sports, we don’t get to play a few exhibitions or scrimmages to help us get out of the gate.”
The weekend's round-robin tournament will be an early-season test for Duke, a team which figures to play a bevy of inexperienced underclassmen. The Blue Devils’ season opener pits Duke against LIU-Brooklyn Friday at 10 a.m. Nagel’s team must cope with a quick turn-around following the match against the Blackbirds in order to prepare for its second contest of the day, a 5:30 p.m. tilt with New Orleans. Tournament play wraps up Saturday afternoon as Duke takes on the host school, No. 9 Florida at 3:30 p.m.
Just like the Blue Devils, the other teams in the field haven't had a chance to scrimmage against anyone either—which means there's no game tape for Nagel to review from this season.
"Really the only things we know about these teams is where they were at the end of last year," Nagel said. "That means we'll get some good practice making in-game adjustments, which are going to be critical for us once we get into the ACC [part of the schedule]."
LIU-Brooklyn is coming off a successful year in which the Blackbirds ran the table in the Northeastern Conference and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. The Blackbirds have some big playmakers returning to the lineup this season, including reigning NEC Player of the Year Annika Foit, NEC Setter of the Year Vera Djuric and NEC Defensive Player of the Year Adriana Vinas Joy. LIU-Brooklyn has seven international players on its roster with Serbia, China, Germany, Puerto Rico and Croatia all represented.
New Orleans is preparing to begin its first volleyball season as a member of the Southland Conference. Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Berry is the Privateers' primary offensive weapon, recording 165 kills in her freshman season. Like Duke, New Orleans is a young team, with just three seniors on the roster who have each played only one prior season, and will look to improve on last year's 8-15 mark.
Nagel said playing a doubleheader on the first day of the season is also something to monitor with a young team.
"We've been having two practices a day [for almost three weeks] in order to not only get our freshmen acclimated as quick as we can, but also to prepare for days like Friday," Nagel said "Hopefully we have enough energy and strength to carry us through the doubleheader and through the weekend."
The tournament's biggest test will come Saturday, when Duke matches up with perennial powerhouse and tournament host Florida. The Gators return last year’s SEC Player of the Year, senior middle blocker Chloe Mann, who led the NCAA with a .444 hitting percentage last season en route to 380 kills.
The tournament will be particularly special for senior libero and two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year Ali McCurdy, a Tampa, Fla., native who will be playing two hours from home for the first time in her Duke career. McCurdy said she'll have a cheering section of friends and family throughout the tournament.
"It's much closer to home than Miami and Florida State," McCurdy said. "It'll be a great atmosphere, and having friends and family there will make our season opener that much better. Everyone's excited that the season is finally starting, and we want to go down there and show Florida a taste of what Duke volleyball has worked for since January."
For Nagel, the opportunity to take McCurdy home and the ability to schedule some tough competition was a no-brainer.
"We do try to get our kids home whenever we can, but with the importance of maintaining a high RPI for the NCAA Tournament that can be difficult, so I feel fortunate that we're able to take Ali back closer to Tampa," Nagel said. "Gainesville has a great volleyball tradition, so it should be a great environment for us to grow."
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