Duke heard nothing but good news this week. Sunday, the squad learned it would begin postseason play in Seattle, and Wednesday five Blue Devils garnered All-ACC honors.
After earning an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA tournament, No. 21 Duke will take on No. 39 Hawaii in the first round Friday night at 8 p.m. at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Blue Devils will be making their eighth tournament appearance in the past nine seasons and the 19th in program history.
Since the selection announcement Sunday night following a busy end to the regular season, Duke (22-7) has scrambled to prepare for the upcoming match.
“There hasn’t really been a lot of time to prepare,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We practiced Monday morning, but…at that point we had no information about our upcoming opponent. It wasn’t until later in the day that we learned anything.”
The Rainbow Wahine (21-6) pose a threat to the Blue Devil offense, ranking sixth nationally with an average of 3.04 blocks per set. Tai Manu-Olevao and Kalei Adolpho have been strong presences for Hawaii in the middle, ranking first and second in the Big West in blocks per set.
But strong teams at the net are nothing new for Duke.
“It’s not like we haven’t played against that this year, comparing it to, say, North Carolina and Florida State,” Nagel said. “Offensively, we have worked continuously according to that block so that we can work with it. We are going to have to get the ball around the block, there is no doubt about that.”
The Blue Devils nearly upset the then-No. 7 Tar Heels Nov. 26. North Carolina ranks second in the country in blocks per set with an average of 3.17, but Duke was able to put forth one of its most impressive offensive performances of the season last week in Chapel Hill.
Outside hitters Emily Sklar and Jeme Obeime—All-ACC first-team honorees—combined for 50 kills in the five-set match, with Sklar recording 26 kills to lead all players. In the regular-season finale against N.C. State, Sklar and Obeime both reached double-digit kills again, and middle blocker Alyse Whitaker knocked down 10.
“The exciting thing with our offense this last week is that we were controlling the ball better in order to open things up for our offense and to get the ball to different hitters,” Nagel said.
Senior Kelsey Williams will continue to be a key feature of the Blue Devil offense as well. With 11.70 assists per set, Williams leads the ACC and is ranked sixth nationally. Her communication and decision-making enabled the squad’s explosive performance against North Carolina. The setter's efforts in the regular season culminated in inaugural ACC Setter of the Year honors and her first career All-ACC selection.
Sophomore Sasha Karelov will look to anchor the Duke defense against Hawaii’s attack. The libero averages 5.15 digs per set to lead the ACC and is ranked 25th nationally in digs per set. Karelov has recorded 10 or more digs in all 29 games this season. Her efforts earned the Raleigh, NC native her first selection to an all-conference squad, garnering second-team accolades alongside classmate Jordan Tucker. The sophomore will have to have one of her best performances of the season to help the Blue Devils advance in the tournament.
Manu-Olevao leads the Rainbow Wahine on offense with a team-best 276 kills this season. Freshman Kalei Greeley will look to make an impact in Friday’s game as well. Greeley has recorded 252 kills, 217 digs and 49 blocks this season, earning her a spot on the Big West All-Freshman team.
In the 2013 NCAA tournament, the Blue Devils defeated College of Charleston with a 3-1 victory in the first round, but the then-No.14 squad was stunned by American in the second round, losing the match 3-0.
The winner of Friday’s matchup will face either No. 3 Washington or New Hampshire Saturday at 10 p.m. But Duke is trying not to look too far ahead.
“Right now we are thinking one match at a time,” Nagel said. “We have high hopes for this team, and what I hope is that we play like we are capable of on Friday night. Looking any further than this match, we are not going to be able to do justice to this upcoming match. That could be the worst mistake.”
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