Two weeks ago, the Blue Devils appeared at a turning point in the season after dropping four of five games to fall to .500 early in the year.
But Duke has responded to the adversity well by reeling off four straight wins and now hopes to escape a three-game road stretch unscathed.
After a five-set win at Virginia Saturday, the Blue Devils will take on Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., Friday at 7 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion before facing Louisville in Louisville, Ky., Sunday at 1 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center. Following a few disappointing five-set losses earlier in the season, Duke has come up clutch in tight contests lately and dominated the final set at Virginia 15-7 to continue its recent improvement.
“This is not an easy road trip that we’re getting ready to embark on,” Blue Devil head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We’ve just got to keep our focus and take it one match at a time.”
Like the Blue Devils, Notre Dame (11-3, 2-0 in the ACC) enters Friday’s match with its share of momentum. The Fighting Irish just wrapped up their most successful nonconference slate in more than 10 years and beat both Louisville and Miami in straight sets to start conference play 2-0 for the first time in four years in the ACC.
Senior middle blocker Katie Higgins has led the way for Notre Dame of late, recording 15 kills on just 31 attempts in the two games last weekend, including a 10-kill effort against the Hurricanes. The Fighting Irish also have three other regular contributors averaging at least two kills per set.
Duke (8-4, 2-0) has five players that regularly get involved offensively, and will look to middle blockers Jordan Tucker and Leah Meyer to spark its attack as well as slow down Notre Dame near the net.
Tucker and Meyer are two of the four Blue Devils with at least 100 kills through nine games, joining underclassmen Jessi Bartholomew and Jamie Stivers.
“Our team is still a work in progress—we’re learning all the time,” Nagel said. “You learn a lot more from a loss than you do from a win. We’ve continued to try to keep the focus that we need to continue to make progress every week.”
Following its contest in Indiana, Duke will make the short trip to Kentucky to take on the Cardinals (5-7, 0-2), who will look for their first ACC win against Wake Forest Friday. Louisville has struggled so far in ACC play, hitting only .159 against then-No. 15 Florida State and .112 at Notre Dame and committing at least 20 errors in each match.
However, freshman Melanie McHenry and sophomore Molly Sauer have been bright spots for the Cardinals—McHenry had a match-high 18 kills against the Seminoles and Sauer added four aces.
The Blue Devils have also had to rely on underclassmen to play major roles, but after a few blips early in the season, they are now playing the best volleyball of their careers. Meyer and Bartholomew—both sophomores—have stepped up recently, with Bartholomew leading the team in kills with 15 in Saturday’s win.
Her contributions could not have come at a better time for a team dealing with several early-season injuries, including one to senior Alyse Whitaker.
“I knew that this is a big year and a big opportunity for me to step up and help my team out,” Bartholomew said.
But the sophomores are not the only ones making a splash for Duke so far.
Stivers has been a steady contributor for the Blue Devils and freshman setter Cindy Marina has also excelled lately, posting 49 assists and 22 digs against Virginia. The Temecula, Calif., native is part of a Duke back line that has looked more comfortable recently and found more success setting up Bartholomew and company.
“[Marina] makes really good decisions, and it keeps the defense on their toes,” Bartholomew said. “That’s going to be really helpful [against Notre Dame] because they’re not going to know what to expect. I’m sure they’re scouting us and watching film on us, but we’re really good at adapting and mixing things up.”
With ACC play just underway, the Blue Devils will likely face more challenges in the coming weeks.
But if its recent play is any indication, Duke might be coming together at the right time to get back to the NCAA tournament after missing it last season.
“[Our chemistry] has gotten really strong this season. That’s one of our strengths, that no matter what, we come out and we fight together,” Bartholomew said. “We’re always there for each other—we always have each other’s backs. I’m excited for another opportunity to do that this weekend.”
But the sophomores are not the only ones making a splash for Duke so far.
Stivers has been a steady contributor for the Blue Devils and freshman setter Cindy Marina has also excelled lately, posting 49 assists and 22 digs against Virginia. The Temecula, Calif., native is part of a Duke back line that has looked more comfortable recently and found more success setting up Bartholomew and company.
“[Marina] makes really good decisions, and it keeps the defense on their toes,” Bartholomew said. “That’s going to be really helpful [against Notre Dame] because they’re not going to know what to expect. I’m sure they’re scouting us and watching film on us, but we’re really good at adapting and mixing things up.”
With ACC play just underway, the Blue Devils will likely face more challenges in the coming weeks.
But if its recent play is any indication, Duke might be coming together at the right time to get back to the NCAA tournament after missing it last season.
“[Our chemistry] has gotten really strong this season. That’s one of our strengths, that no matter what, we come out and we fight together,” Bartholomew said. “We’re always there for each other—we always have each other’s backs. I’m excited for another opportunity to do that this weekend.”
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