Stock watch: Duke women's soccer continues winning streak despite injuries

The bell of the Blue Zone stock exchange has rung again, meaning it's time to take a look at who is rising and falling with their performances for Blue Devil sports teams. Each week, the Blue Zone will look at whose stock is on the rise and whose stock has taken a hit from the week in the world of Duke athletics.

Bull Market—Trending Up

Duke women’s soccer: The Blue Devils stayed unbeaten in ACC play with road wins at Wake Forest Thursday night and at N.C. State Sunday night to improve to 10-2-2. Duke has not lost in more than a month since a 3-1 defeat against West Virginia Sept. 9, and it shot up to No. 4 in the nation in this week's rankings. Junior Imani Dorsey scored the lone goal in the 1-0 victory against the Demon Deacons and found the back of the net again along with freshman Ella Stevens and senior Christina Gibbons in the 3-1 win against the Wolfpack. N.C. State's late goal snapped a streak of four straight shutouts for the Blue Devils.

Remarkably, Duke has been at its best since it lost sophomore Kayla McCoy and senior Rebecca Quinn for the season with injuries. McCoy scored four goals in the Blue Devils' first nine games but tore her Achilles' tendon Sept. 17 against Boston College, and Quinn has also been sidelined since the game against the Eagles.

Duke volleyball: The Blue Devils handed Pittsburgh its first ACC loss with a four-set victory Friday, then topped Virginia Tech in four sets Sunday for their seventh win in eight games. Freshman Jamie Stivers combined for 27 kills in the two matches, and Duke played impressive defense against the Hokies to hold them to a negative hitting percentage in the third and fourth sets. The Blue Devils are now tied for third in the conference in volleyball at 5-1 with games against Wake Forest and Virginia coming up this week.

Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium: Duke had to play through harsh conditions in its 13-6 win against Army with Hurricane Matthew dumping rain on most of North Carolina Saturday, but it could have been worse. The field at Wallace Wade Stadium, which was redone with a new drainage system as part of the stadium's offseason renovations, remained in pristine condition with no standing water to be found. This was a startling contrast for many fans that had watched the beginning of N.C. State's 10-3 win against Notre Dame in Raleigh, which was played in a virtual pond.

Bear Market—Trending Down

Duke men's soccer: Davidson notched just its second win of the year Tuesday with a 3-1 victory at Duke, and the Blue Devils lost at No. 18 Virginia Tech by the same score Friday night. Duke is now just 2-5-1 since an upset win at UCLA Sept. 2 and will likely be left out of the NCAA tournament for the fifth straight year. The Blue Devils are in fifth place in the ACC's Coastal Division with a conference record of 1-3-1, and they have suffered disappointing nonconference losses to Georgia State and the Wildcats in the last two weeks. The schedule does not get any easier for Duke, which faces No. 8 North Carolina Friday night at Koskinen Stadium.