With their schedule about to get harder down the stretch of conference play, the Blue Devils know the importance of taking advantage of playing at home.
Coming off of a pair of road wins against Boston College and Syracuse, Duke will look to keep pace with the top teams in the ACC with games against Louisville Friday at 3 p.m. and Notre Dame Sunday at noon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils enter the weekend tied for third in the ACC and one game ahead of the Fighting Irish.
“All three of our teams have gotten better over the season,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said of the three teams that will compete this weekend. “So we just take it from where we are right now, and prepare accordingly like we would any other opponent.”
This weekend's action will feature a pair of rematches as Duke (16-6, 10-2 in the ACC) swept Louisville 25-18, 25-12, 25-21 in October, but fell 3-1 to Notre Dame back in September. Since that loss to the Fighting Irish (18-6, 9-3), the Blue Devils have won eight of their last nine contests and continued to improve as unit.
In Friday's matchup against the Cardinals (7-15, 2-10), Duke will look to rely on its stout defense to contain Louisville's top hitters Melanie McHenry and Tess Clark. The Blue Devils lead the ACC with an average of 18.3 digs per set this season and a big reason why has been the play of defensive specialist Sasha Karelov. The senior ranks fourth in the nation with 5.4 digs per set and will surely challenge the duo of McHenry and Clark, who have combined for 470 kills this season.
After having three players finish with double-digit kills in the teams' first matchup, Duke will once again look to take use its attack to jump on the Cardinals early Friday Senior captain Jordan Tucker and sophomore Leah Meyer lead the Blue Devils in kills this season and as a team, Duke is leading the conference with 14.2 kills per set.
Although they have relied primarily on a few top options for kills, the Blue Devils have still managed to spread the wealth with six players contributing more than two kills per set.
“If someone’s been struggling we’ve been able to make adjustments and have someone new step up to the plate, which is really exciting,” Nagel said. “And that’s what it’s all about as a team.”
Duke will need to be at its best in all facets of the game Sunday if it hopes to turn the tide against the Fighting Irish Sunday.
The Blue Devils played a tight match with Notre Dame the first time around, but came up short due to key miscues in the biggest moments of the contest. Duke finished with 29 errors compared to just 17 for the Fighting Irish and had a hitting percentage of just .186.
Notre Dame will put pressure on the Blue Devils with a pair of tough servers in junior Sam Fry and sophomore Ryann DeJarld, who rank first and third in the ACC, respectively in aces. When the ball is in play, the Fighting Irish have been boosted by junior Caroline Holt's ability to find her teammates. The setter leads the ACC in assists and has helped her team continue to attack efficiently.
But Duke believes that the team that takes the floor Sunday against the Fighting Irish is completely different than what Notre Dame saw earlier this season.
“Since the last time we played, our team has grown in a few different areas,” Nagel said. “We’ve worked on our blocking, and that has really helped us come along as a strong defensive team.”
Outside of wins and losses, the Blue Devils' play on the court has improved with Meyer playing a key role for the Duke defense. The sophomore has lead the team in blocks, with 103 total blocks on the season and the Blue Devils enters the weekend holding their opponents to just a .167 hitting percentage—the third lowest in the ACC.
With the Fighting Irish breathing down the Blue Devils' neck in the ACC standings, Duke knows the importance of turning in one of its best weekends of play, especially with its home crowd behind them.
“Every match in the ACC is so competitive, it doesn’t matter what the result was the last time,” Nagel said. “We’ve got to come prepared and ready to compete hard to be able to be successful against each of these opponents.”
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