Weary is the soul that wanders, and the Blue Devils were wandering far from home this weekend.
After coming up on the losing side of a pair of sweeps to No. 10 SMU and No. 1 Pittsburgh the previous weekend, Duke traveled to Kentucky to play No. 3 Louisville for its third consecutive road match against a ranked opponent. The Cardinals have been nearly perfect in league play this season, losing only to top-ranked Pittsburgh.
It was going to be an uphill battle from the start, and the Blue Devils were swept 3-0 for the third time in a row. Driving four-and-a-half hours north to South Bend, Ind., Duke turned its sights to Notre Dame, hoping to snag a win to break the string of losses away from home. In a hard-fought match, the Blue Devils fell in a 3-1 loss to the Fighting Irish.
“It was just one of those days where you knew it wasn't going to be easy and it was going to be rough going, but you hope you can get through it,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “And we just didn't bring it up enough.”
Duke (9-18, 5-11 in the ACC) began the weekend in the Bluegrass State to take on third-ranked Louisville (23-3, 15-1 in the ACC). Despite the unfavorable matchup in unfriendly territory, the Blue Devils held their own early in the first set, fighting their way to a 9-9 tie. This didn’t last long, though. In the remainder of the first set, the Cardinals outscored Duke 16-4 to take the set 25-13. Having found a recipe for success, Louisville kept its foot on the gas.
The second set saw Louisville leap to an early 7-point lead which it only expanded to win the set 25-16. In the third set, the Blue Devils took the first point — the first and only time they would hold a lead within a set. The Cardinals once again turned up the heat and claimed the match with a 25-10 third-set win.
“Louisville is a really good team,” Nagel said. “They should do well going into the NCAA tournament.”
The Fighting Irish (10-15, 3-13 in the ACC) were seeking to break an 11-game losing streak. The Blue Devils, meanwhile, having suffered three consecutive sweeps, were looking to tally some set wins and a match to travel back to Durham victorious.
Purcell Pavilion was awash with Kelly green Sunday — the painted hardwood, the fans’ gear, the uniforms, the opposing coach’s silken shirt. Duke and Notre Dame were locked in a tight struggle to claim the first set. The score was tied at 23, then 24, then 25, 26 and 27; whoever blinked would lose the set. A deflected block from Duke went out of bounds, giving Notre Dame its second set point. The Blue Devils answered with a blistering kill attempt, but it drifted long to give the set to the Irish.
The tight competition continued, and the two sides fought their way up to a 17-17 tie in the second set. Despite some miscommunication, the Blue Devils pulled out the point with some scrappy digs and took the lead, not to look back. Grace Penn, Rachel Richardson, Taylor Williams and Kerry Keefe all saw kills as Duke took the second set 25-20 to log their first set win in two weeks.
“I saw some improvement in [communication] as well, where it was some players making some different decisions in tough situations which kept the play alive and then we could ultimately win the point,” Nagel said. “So there's definitely growth.”
However, the third set saw a massive momentum swing for Notre Dame as it raced out to a 13-6 lead early in the set with a series of blocks to neutralize the powerful offensive shots from the Blue Devils. The Irish kept the lead for the remainder of the set, closing it out 25-20.
The fourth set, much like the first and second, was a closely fought contest. Duke and Notre Dame swapped the lead several times up to a 13-13 tie, but with a barrage of laser-like kills, the Irish took a 19-15 lead. Pulling out incredibly athletic plays — at times rolling on the floor to dig up Duke attempts — Notre Dame found itself with a set point at 24-20. A serve from the Blue Devils drifted long and the phrase “MATCH IRISH” flashed in golden block letters on the courtside digital display as green spotlights decorated the court.
“I think [Sunday] we didn't communicate as well as I've seen us communicate,” Nagel said. “I think that was part of our issue against a team like Notre Dame that was very hungry for a win at home.”
The ACC has seen several of its teams find greatness on the national stage. Six teams are ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA, including two of the top three. Despite the sometimes heartbreaking losses, the talent of the conference has enabled growth of the Blue Devils.
“It's helped our players develop to play in this tough competition, although it's hard,” Nagel said. “It's helped us be able to develop our own team, because we're up against such tough competition every weekend.”
The stiff conference competition continues, as Duke will next face No. 7 Stanford in Durham Friday.
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