This weekend, spooky season came early for the Blue Devils.
Duke volleyball welcomed Miami and No. 19 Florida State to town for a pair of weekend matches, and dropped both to the Floridians. The losses came in very different manners; the Blue Devils lost to the Hurricanes in a tough, back-and-forth matchup Friday evening but Sunday’s game was a different story, with the Seminoles dominating wire-to-wire.
“I felt like from right in the first set [Sunday] that we made some unforced errors,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “And then we just weren't able to get a rhythm going after that happened.”
Unluckily for the Blue Devils, not only did they make unforced errors, but they made them against the wrong team at the wrong time. Florida State has been one of the best teams in the ACC this season, and standout middle blocker Rylie Kadel was unavailable this weekend after an injury in practice.
Without Kadel, Duke’s blocking corps was limited, only tallying nine blocks on the weekend, compared to its opponents’ 21. The Blue Devils also missed her offensive efficiency, as the Parker, Colo., native has been hitting .360 so far this season.
“I think we've got to reevaluate that as well,” Nagel said of her blocking production. “Hopefully Rylie can get back at the same time. We've tried a couple different players in her position, but I think all of that's under evaluation right now.”
Despite the two losses over the weekend, Duke had plenty of strong moments. Friday’s game was a back-and-forth bout, with Nagel’s squad taking the first set, dropping the next two and rallying back for an electrifying 25-23 win in the fourth. In the end, Miami took the fifth set 15-11, ending the home team's hopes of a comeback.
“Miami had a win over [No. 7] Texas early in the season, and Florida State's had some quality wins as well.” Nagel said. “We're playing some tough competition, and we're learning along the way. I think the bright spot for our team on Friday night was to see that we were capable of not only being in it, but getting that match.”
Sunday held a few silver linings for the Blue Devils as well. Notably, they started the third set with a strong 5-1 run. The small Duke run electrified the crowd and provided a glimpse of a team firing on all cylinders against a top-25 team.
“Nikki Underwood was putting some pressure on with her serve, and did a good job of that,” Nagel said. “I think we were taking advantage of opportunities that were being given to us. Our serve was forcing them to struggle a little bit, but we also were doing a good job of being disciplined on our block and our defense.”
If the Blue Devils can harness that energy and level of play next weekend against another top-25 opponent in Georgia Tech, they’ll be in good shape to give the Yellow Jackets a competitive match.
Sunday’s match meant more than just volleyball to the Duke community as well. The Blue Devils hosted their annual Dig Pink, in an effort to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. The message hit especially close to Nagel, as she herself is a survivor of the disease.
“I'm happy that we can do that every year for breast cancer awareness and for a reminder for all to continue to get their checks and take care of themselves.” Nagel said. “I think making that a match to raise awareness to remind women to take care of themselves and get checked, but also the reminder that breast cancer needs the funding in order to continue to find cures. It still affects so many women across the globe, and it would be amazing to be able to find a cure for it. We have to keep working at raising those funds and making it a priority in the hopes that someday we can save lives.”
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