The Seahawks took a deep breath in the huddle, closed their eyes for a moment and prepared for the second set.
It would not be enough.
Duke swept UNC Wilmington 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-13) Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium to earn a weekend split. After facing a 6-foot-8 opposing blocker on the Stanford front line the previous night, the Blue Devils pounced on a team with no player standing taller than 6-foot-1.
“I thought our team would have to make some adjustments today, just with timing on the block,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “[I'm] really excited that our team was patient and disciplined on defense.”
Duke (5-3) quickly got the bitter taste out of its mouth from the previous night, a five-set loss against the No. 3 Cardinal that went down to the wire. Trailing 3-0 in the first set, the Blue Devils went on an 11-2 run, turning to reigning ACC Freshman of the Week Leah Meyer for production.
Meyer delivered, putting up nine kills in the first set alone—compared to 11 total for the Seahawks (6-2)—and finishing with a career-high 17 kills at a .484 clip. The Clarence, N.Y., native took advantage of a shorter opponent, putting up six blocks on the afternoon to stymie UNC Wilmington's offense.
The Blue Devils did not keep things close in the second or third sets. Duke held the Seahawks to just 10 kills total in the last two frames, as the Blue Devils outhit them in the match .285 to .055.
The night before, UNC Wilmington had won a five-set battle against North Carolina, which beat the Cardinal earlier in the week. Duke bounced back from its five-set loss with much more tenacity, and as a result completed the circle of parity.
The Blue Devils also found their groove serving, an area that has given the team plenty of trouble during the past three weeks. Duke recorded three aces against four service errors, won 58 percent of the points on its serve and went on four runs of at least six straight points.
“I thought we were serving tougher [Saturday],” Nagel said. “[Against Stanford] we didn’t serve as tough as we wanted to. So today I thought we did a much better job of that.”
Freshman defensive specialist Kelli Kalinoski finished the match with only one service error, and she continues to earn more playing time. All three freshmen on the roster made appearances, as did 14 of the 16 Blue Devils.
“I’m really excited about our entire freshman class,” Nagel said. “They don’t seemed to get rattled a lot…I look for all of them to be big contributors for our team.”
In both wins and losses this season, Nagel has stressed the importance of consistent play. The four-time ACC Coach of the Year was pleased Saturday, as Duke posted 18, 17 and 17 kills in the three sets and varied little in killing percentage, attempts and errors from set to set.
Nagel’s focus on consistency is for good reason—Duke has won all its matches in straight sets, but dropped both its five-setters, including Friday night, when the Blue Devils’ quality of play was sporadic depending on the set.
Duke continues its homestand next weekend, welcoming No. 24 Michigan Friday and Michigan State Saturday to Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils faced both opponents on the road last year, falling to the Wolverines in five sets before turning around to take down the Spartans in another five-setter.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.