After a jam-packed weekend on the west coast with three games in 24 hours, the Blue Devils have a much needed break to rejuvenate and hone in on the skills needed to prepare them for a big weekend at Cameron.
The Blue Devils will take on West Virginia Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Oklahoma Saturday at 6:30 p.m. During its weekend road trip, Duke suffered two tough losses to top-ranked Stanford and Santa Clara, something that head coach Jolene Nagel said shook the team.
“You start to question yourself a little bit when all the sudden things aren’t flowing in your game as a team,” Nagel said.
But the Blue Devils (6-3) regained their confidence in a well-fought battle against Pennsylvania, taking the Quakers down in four sets 3-1. Despite the losses, Duke gained valuable skills from playing top-notch competition.
“The long trip out there helped us conditioning wise and it helped us mentally to understand the significance of having to be ready for every match and be at the level we need to be mentally to compete at our highest level,” Nagel said.
The Blue Devils will look to senior Jeme Obeime, junior Emily Sklar and sophomore Alyse Whitaker to step up against West Virginia and Oklahoma.
Obeime leads the team with 124 kills on the season, though Sklar has been on a roll of late, as she posted a career-high 24 kills to clinch the win against Penn. Whitaker garnered all-tournament team honors after contributing 10 kills and four blocks in Saturday’s win. Sophomore Sasha Karelov played a key role on defense for the Blue Devils, contributing 24 digs.
West Virginia (9-1) will test Duke’s defense, as it looks to extend its nine-game winning streak. Sophomore Jordan Anderson leads the Mountaineers in both kills and digs, contributing 176 and 90 on the season. The Mountaineers had a solid weekend, winning the Mountaineer Invitational with victories against Kent State, Seton Hall, St. Francis and Montana to take the title.
Oklahoma (8-2) also had a successful weekend, winning four straight matches in the NIKE Invitational. The Sooner squad features junior outside hitter Kimmy Gardiner—who was crowned MVP of the tournament—and junior libero Taylor Migliazzo, who contributed 16 digs in the team’s triumph against Lamar.
The home floor advantage may play a key role for the Blue Devils in their upcoming contests. Although it has had a tough time on the road, Duke remains undefeated at home, and the team hopes to keep it that way.
“It’ll be nice to be able to play in Cameron where we have our loyal supporters and then to be able to play some good competition here as well,” Nagel said.
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