Duke volleyball hosts unbeaten No. 20 Michigan, Michigan State

Michigan is not known for its high temperatures, but right now things in the Great Lakes State are very hot. The Wolverines have blazed a trail across the Midwest, going undefeated through their first nine matches.

Duke’s goal this weekend is to make sure that trail stops in Durham.

The Blue Devils will look to take down a pair of Big Ten opponents this weekend at Cameron Indoor Stadium as they play No. 20 Michigan Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Michigan State Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Duke will try to continue its strong play after a weekend of mixed results, including a hard-fought loss to then-No. 3 Stanford followed by a three-set sweep against UNC Wilmington.

Although the loss against the Cardinal was intense and emotional, Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said she was impressed with the team’s ability to bounce back against the Seahawks.

“Oftentimes when you have such an emotional match, it’s hard to get ready for the next one right away as quickly as the turnaround was,” Nagel said. “I think our team did a great job of that…we’ve had matches like [Stanford] in the past and not bounced back as well as we would have liked to, so I think our team has learned some lessons.”

These lessons are ones that the Blue Devils (5-3) will need to remember as they contend against two tough opponents this weekend. In Michigan, Duke faces an undefeated team with a scrappy defense that leads the Big Ten in digs per set with 17.2. The Wolverines (9-0) have held their opponents to an average hitting percentage of .140, which will prove to be a challenge for the Blue Devil hitters, led by freshman Leah Meyer and senior Emily Sklar.

If Duke wants to pass the test against the Wolverines, it will need to swing hard and take advantage of every offensive opportunity. One matchup to look for will be at the middle blocker position, where two seemingly unstoppable forces will collide. Michigan Junior Abby Cole—a preseason All-Big Ten selection—is coming off a weekend during which she averaged an impressive .567 hitting percentage across three matches and was named the MVP of the Wolverines’ Michigan Challenge tournament. Across the net will be Meyer, who had a career-high 17 kills against UNC Wilmington. The Clarence, N.Y., native also leads the team in hitting percentage and kills on the year.

“Leah in particular in the middle blocker position has really stepped in and done a nice job, and each week it seems like she makes a little bit more of an impact,” Nagel said. “She’s really coming along and we’ve only had three weeks of competition, so it’s really exciting to see how much she can possibly develop this season and contribute for our team.” 

Although Nagel is excited about the talent that individual players like Meyer bring to the table, she emphasized that the team will only find success if it improves its cohesion and communication.

“We need to continue to work as a team,” Nagel said. “I really think at times, we aren’t always working together as a team, and that’s where some of the errors crop in and some of the inconsistency crops in.” 

After a quick turnaround, Duke will face a Michigan State team with a slightly different dynamic. The Spartans (6-3) are heavy hitters, leading the Big Ten in kills per set thanks to 2014 All-America Honorable Mention Chloe Reinig. The team’s successful hitting has led to trouble for opposing defenses, which are averaging just 12.7 digs per set.

To secure a win against Michigan State, the Blue Devils will need a successful defensive effort from their back row, which includes junior Sasha Karelov, sophomore Nicole Elattrache and freshman Kelli Kalinoski. Duke held UNC Wilmington to a .055 hitting percentage and will need a similar effort against the high-powered Spartans. To do this, the team is working on improving its ability to win serve-receive points.

“One of the things we’ve looked at this week is our side-out ability,” Nagel said. “We’ve been working on that and trying to see what we can do to make that a little bit more efficient, so hopefully we will see some of those results as we go into this weekend’s matches.”