Ain’t no rest for the Devils.
While students were relaxing during their fall break, Duke volleyball took a few trips down Tobacco Road this weekend, winning against Wake Forest Friday and dropping a matchup with N.C. State Sunday.
“We played great Friday,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “... but not so great [Sunday].”
All things considered, it was a positive weekend for the Blue Devils. Friday saw a breakout performance from freshman Taylor Williams, as she tied for the game high in kills at 16 with teammate Kerry Keefe. Keefe has All-ACC accolades under her belt, so it is a personal success for Williams to go blow-for-blow with her.
“All of the freshmen are getting their first look at the ACC right now and experiencing it,” Nagel said of her young standout. “Friday night, things weren't going great for [Williams] initially, but then she was able to get it going, and she really helped us get the third and fourth set.”
Williams wasn’t the only newcomer with a strong weekend. The Blue Devils needed all hands on deck in a game far more tiring than an average 3-1 victory Friday, as the second set was a 33-31 marathon that ended in a Wake Forest victory.
“It was kind of neck and neck the whole way through,” Nagel said, “I think it shows it's tough to lose a set 33-31. I was really happy to see our team just pull it together, be strong mentally and just go right back out there and keep working, keep executing.”
Green Bay transfer and PhD student Tiffany Paalman was one of Duke’s rotational players who saw action this weekend. Paalman slammed the door on the Demon Deacons, spiking home a set from fellow graduate student Grace Penn to clinch Friday’s victory.
Paalman’s appearance was a part of a weekend-long trend spurred on by a schematic switch. Nagel’s staff moved from a 5-1 offense to a 6-2 system, a more offensive-focused scheme that requires a high level of play from a team’s defensive specialists.
“Friday we had our [defensive specialists] playing well and being a big help to us. They've been working hard,” Nagel said of her team’s flexibility. “We were able to move them around a little bit to play more to their strengths against our opponent.”
Unfortunately, flexibility is not always a result of taking an advantage. On Sunday, the Blue Devils were fighting an uphill battle against N.C. State and had to exhaust their bench in hopes of finding a spark.
“We were able to just give opportunity, because some of the other stuff that we had wasn't working,” Nagel said. “So we tried to allow others to get in there and see what they could do.”
The head coach found sparks in Sydney Tomlak, Avery Hamlin and Christina Barrow in Sunday’s contest, with each bringing something different.
“Tommy has been really doing well in our serve-receive, getting her in there was to help our serve-receive as a team,” Nagel said of the junior’s role.
Hamlin brought a spark in the third set, playing fundamentally sound volleyball with three digs alongside three kills on 14 attempts. For her part, Barrow brought strong defense while the Blue Devils moved towards the more offensive-focused 6-2 formation.
“Barrow did a good job this weekend of playing defense for us, and was out there early in the set.” Nagel said. “But once we made some changes, we went from a 5-1 in this match today to 6-2, then it gets harder to have our defensive specialists out there.”
A new scheme could well mark a turnaround for the Blue Devils, who have been looking for a consistent team identity throughout the early part of the season.
“I think the fact that we were able to play so well on the road Friday night in a tough match that was point for point is a really great quality for our team to have. We were very encouraged,” Nagel said.
Duke travels north next weekend for two games against Virginia and Virginia Tech.
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