Silver linings abound.
Duke volleyball started off its regular season with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against a punchy Colgate team coming off a NCAA tournament appearance. The vibes were high in Cameron Indoor Stadium after Friday’s victory, but the Blue Devils weren’t able to maintain momentum for the rest of the weekend, losing to No. 13 Kansas and South Carolina in 3-1 losses.
“We just have to make sure we study [these losses] and grow from them, because you always learn so much more when you're playing strong competition than when you don't,” Head coach Jolene Nagel said. “So I think we're going to learn a lot, [and] hopefully we can get a lot better.”
With the losses come growth opportunities. The setter duo of Grace Penn and Nikki Quinn was certainly a bright spot this weekend, as both got significant playing time and were strong contributors.
Quinn started against Colgate, and the redshirt freshman amassed 48 assists — that figure would have been Duke’s third highest single game total last season. The Del Mar, Calif., native electrified the crowd with deceptive setovers as well, resulting in an overall impressive collegiate debut.
Not to be outdone, Penn — a Boston College graduate transfer — matched Quinn’s 48 assists to set a career high Sunday. She also registered a team-high 24 assists Saturday.
“We're going to be taking a look at that. I feel comfortable in a couple different systems for our team and personnel wise, too, and I don't think I have it all figured out.” Nagel said on the continuing shuffling of the position.
Senior captain Rylie Kadel was another standout this weekend. Last season, the middle blocker only played 35 sets, but after appearing in all 13 sets this weekend and setting a career high with 16 kills against the Raiders, she’s in line to see more action on the court this season. Add that to her efficient performance of 42 kills and only six errors on 68 attempts on the weekend, and Kadel is well positioned to hold down the position for the Blue Devils.
“My main thing is trust your eyes, trust your training and be consistent,” Kadel said. “I feel like if I'm going to be getting more of a load, more balls, I just need to rely on myself and my training and then be consistent for my teammates.”
Kadel was one of many players to see a marked increase in playing time after the graduation of five significant contributors, including middle blockers Lizzie Fleming and Jess Robinson. Before the season, Nagel told The Chronicle the departures created opportunities for former bench contributors to take on a larger role.
Other key contributors who saw an increased role this weekend were middle blocker Ngozi Iloh and defensive specialist Nikki Underwood. Iloh notched 37 kills, third most on the team, and Underwood had 61 defensive attempts with only two errors. Iloh in particular showed up in big moments, punctuating long rallies with emphatic kills all afternoon Sunday.
Neither player saw much time in a featured role last season, but both proved effective this weekend. Freshman libero Mailinh Godschall was another new starter and tallied 55 digs, 70 total attempts and zero receiving errors.
Godschall wasn’t the only freshman to produce; middle blocker Breonna Goss started all three games, and outside hitters Avery Hamlin and Taylor Williams each tallied a start. Goss had an efficient .290 hitting percentage on 31 attempts, and Hamlin and Williams were rotational players who combined for 30 kills in 17 sets played.
“We're excited that this class has been fun to work with,” Nagel said of her incoming freshman class. “I do think they're going to learn a ton from these matches that we had this weekend, because they were very challenging, and I knew that would be the case.”
Next up for the Blue Devils is another late-week slate against LSU, Davidson and Florida International starting Thursday.
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