After a rocky start, Duke is hoping it can turns things around with a strong performance in its ACC opener. Ranked No. 25 in the nation to begin the season, the Blue Devils have yet to live up to that billing, but are looking to regain their footing beginning Wednesday.
Duke opens up conference play at 6:30 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Wake Forest. The Blue Devils are coming off consecutive straight-set losses against then-No. 20 Michigan and Michigan State last weekend, but are expected to compete for a title in a conference that currently has just one squad ranked in the top 25.
"It’s a little different feel, so it’ll be great," Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said of ACC play. "Everything’s on the line, so you’ve got to come to play every night in the ACC and take them one at a time."
The Blue Devils (5-5) have lost four of their last six contests and are in need of momentum as they close out a six-game homestand. Although it is too early in the season to hit the panic button, the clock is ticking as the most important part of the regular season approaches.
The Blue Devils have played four ranked teams and their 10 opponents have combined for an overall record of 69-46. Nagel schedules challenging opponents every year, but Duke has not fared so poorly in nonconference play since 2003.
"I’m not deterred or discouraged at all by what’s happened so far," Nagel said. "In those five losses, there was not bad loss in that group.... We took the chance—we put ourselves out there."
Entering the ring after a very different nonconference experience is Wake Forest (8-4). The Demon Deacons’ opponents have combined to win 47 percent of their other games this season. Wake Forest opened last season 10-4 before beginning ACC play and finishing 16-16.
The Demon Deacons have lost the last 12 sets against Duke, but under the direction of third year head coach Ken Murczek, the Demon Deacons are not to be trifled with.
After the graduation of All-ACC second-team selection Jazmen Russell, Wake Forest returns All-ACC Freshmen team selections Caroline Wolf and Kylie Long and boasts two freshmen that have started in the majority of games this season. Freshman setter Rachel Burau leads the team in assists and middle blocker Katie Moore—the first Demon Decon to stand at 6-foot-3 since Shannon Homan in 2006—leads Wake Forest in all major blocking categories and was named MVP of the Elon Phoenix Tournament Sept. 5.
The Blue Devils were picked to finish third in the ACC in the preseason poll, and the Demon Deacons were projected to finish last.
"Preseason rankings…mean nothing," Nagel said. "They’ve restocked...they've got some great attackers and they have some good ball control, and I look for it to be just a really tough match for us."
The Blue Devils are 5-1 against teams with only one player no taller than 6-foot-3, but 0-4 against teams with anyone 6-foot-4 or taller. Wake Forest’s relatively short front line—only three players are 6-foot-2 or taller—is likely to open up some angles for Duke's hitters.
The Blue Devils have dominated the Demon Deacons at home, going 22-3 all-time. Wake Forest went 1-10 in road games in 2014, in contrast to Duke’s 29-3 record at home in 2013 and 2014.
But Duke has already lost as many games this year at home as it did over the two previous seasons combined. The Blue Devils have committed 181 errors compared to their opponents’ 151, have hit 38 aces against 77 service errors and have been out-blocked 78.5 to 58.0
Part of the trouble stemmed from a leg injury to senior outside hitter Emily Sklar in the third match of the year. The 2014 AVCA All-America honorable mention missed four games, including two losses against ranked opponents. Senior outside hitter Breanna Atkinson also sat out the first two weeks of the season with an injury.
Sklar pointed to the tall, well-rounded opponents as a cause of Duke's slow start, but expects the Blue Devils to turn things around.
“It was really rough losing those last two games in Cameron,” Sklar said. “I think we’ve had a really tough schedule…we want to win an ACC Championship.”
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