Duke volleyball trio returns to Kansas for weekend tournament

Kansas is not known as a volleyball hotbed, so it seems a little bit of an anomaly that three Blue Devils call it home. This weekend, though, they head back to the Sunflower State and could not be more excited.

Duke takes on Missouri-Kansas City at 10:30 a.m. and Kansas at 8 p.m. Friday at the Kansas Invitational at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence, Kan. The following day, the Blue Devils will return to the court against Western Illinois at 11:30 a.m., hoping to move back into the top 25 with three victories.

“The opportunity to play back at home in front of friends and family is awesome, and to do it with the girls that are from there is so much more [special], to be able to wear Duke colors and the Duke name,” said freshman defensive specialist Kelli Kalinoski, an Overland Park, Kan., native.

Head coach Jolene Nagel first tapped into the recruiting pipeline flowing from Kansas to Durham when she targeted Chelsea Cook, a middle blocker from Overland Park who was named to the second team All-ACC as a senior in 2013. From there, Nagel went on to recruit middle blockers Jordan Tucker and Anna Kropf, and received a commitment from Kalinoski soon afterwards. All three players hail from the Kansas City area and will be playing less than an hour from home this weekend.

“As a 15-year old, I didn’t know exactly where I was going to be,” said Kalinoski, who played in the same club program as Tucker. “And I was like, ‘Woah, [Jordan’s] going to Duke, that’s so cool.’ And it ends up that I’m going here, which is the greatest thing, because she’s such a great teammate. Having that hometown friend, it’s just such a great experience on and off the court.”

Kalinoski’s older sister played against Cook, and her father worked with Kropf’s father. Tucker also knew Kropf because of a mutual teammate on the club and high school circuits.

“The kids that we have had from Kansas City have turned out to be great, so that helps to want to go back there and find some more, too,” Nagel said.

This weekend, the Jayhawks (3-0) will be Duke’s toughest competition, and similarities abound between the hosts and Long Beach State, who defeated the Blue Devils (2-1) last weekend.

Kansas sits right next to Duke on the outside looking in at the top 25. The Jayhawks lost two major offensive weapons from last year’s team to graduation in outside hitters Chelsea Albers and Sara McClinton, but return three starters, libero Cassie Wait and six seniors. Kelsey Payne, Tiana Dockery and Tayler Soucie—who played on the same club team as Tucker—have led the Jayhawks offensively so far, combining for 101 kills.

Led by head coach Ray Bechard—now in his 18th season in Lawrence—the Jayhawks are seeking a program-record fourth straight NCAA tournament appearance, and a big factor will be the team’s experienced, but relatively short, middle blockers. All three players stand at 6-foot-1, which should make things easier for the Blue Devils after facing a towering 49ers squad in California last weekend.

Duke’s first contest Friday will be against Missouri-Kansas City, which is picked to repeat as WAC champions after coming within just two games of its first NCAA tournament appearance last year. The Kangaroos (2-1) return their libero and six starters, including 2014 First Team All-WAC selections Sydney Crimmins and Taryn Miller.

Tucker will line up across the net from former high school teammates Anna Church of Kansas and Lindsay Zych of UMKC Friday morning. Kalinoski also expects to see several former opponents during what should be a long and challenging weekend.

“[I’m excited to] see those girls, but it’s definitely going to be a weird experience,” Tucker said. “No mercy will be shown.”