After winning their two opening games of ACC play at Cameron Indoor Stadium last weekend, the No. 25 Blue Devils have a challenging road ahead of them as they head to Charlottesville, Va., Friday and to Notre Dame, Ind., Sunday.
Duke hopes to defend its title of ACC Champion but will have to keep its focus to stay on track. Maintaining the energy, efficiency and communication that propelled the Blue Devils to a sweep of Miami Sunday will be key to their success on the road this weekend.
The match against Virginia Friday evening will kick off four away matches for the next two weekends, but the squad knows it must take one match at a time to be successful.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “[That’s] the focus we have to have to execute and beat these teams, especially on their home courts.”
The Cavaliers (9-6) also notched two wins at home to kick off ACC play, taking down both Clemson and Wake Forest 3-1. Undefeated in five games at home, Virginia recorded its highest hitting percentage of the season, .383, against the Demon Deacons Saturday. Senior outside hitter Tori Janoswki—who is 12th on the Cavaliers’ all-time list with 1,023 career kills—hit .500 with 19 kills and no errors.
Maintaining composure on Virginia’s home court will be as challenging as containing Janowski on offense. Memorial Gymnasium draws a tough crowd of Cavalier fans, especially for the defending ACC champions.
“With Duke, it comes with the territory, being the team to beat,” Nagel said. “In Charlottesville, they have a smaller facility with a great crowd that can get very close to the court. We usually get the best hecklers they have, so we have to be ready to go because they are ready for us to come and ready to take advantage of us.”
Notre Dame (3-10) was swept in both of its opening ACC matches 3-0, but the Irish gave then-No. 6 Florida State a run for its money Sunday, forcing 32 ties and 10 lead changes before falling 34-32, 25-22, 25-19. Junior setter Hanna Muzzonigro had a career-high 34 assists of Notre Dame’s total 42—two more than the Seminoles produced. The Irish also put down 46 kills to Florida State’s 45.
But Notre Dame struggled on defense in both its matches, unable to put up good blocks at the net and giving up 16 service aces between the Miami match Friday and Florida State contest Sunday.
The Blue Devils (10-3, 2-0 ACC) will look to take advantage of the Irish’s defensive weaknesses. Sunday Duke hit a season-high .427 with 54 kills and only 10 attack errors, led by outside hitter Emily Sklar. The junior—earning ACC Player of the Week honors—finished her fifth-straight match with 15 or more kills, knocking down 16 en route to the Blue Devils’ sweep of the Hurricanes and fifth-straight win.
Despite their recent efficiency on offense, the Blue Devils cannot underestimate their opponent.
“I know this sounds cliche, but every match in the ACC is a big match. Going on the road makes it that much more of a challenge,” Nagel said.
This weekend will be a test of Duke’s composure. The Blue Devils found a successful rhythm in Cameron Indoor Stadium the past two weekends but must focus on maintaining their consistency and confidence without a home-court advantage. The squad gave its best performance of the season Sunday against Miami with balanced effort on offense and defense.
Nagel believes that the squad can keep this up if they avoid dwelling on their win streak and the challenges of two weekends on the road.
“Trying to make sure we continue that balance and communication will be the challenge heading into this weekend,” Nagel said. “The key for our team getting better is understanding how much that made a difference and how much work we had to put in to get there. We will have to work one match at a time.”
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