Volleyball may be played in sets, but for the Blue Devils, Friday's match was a matter of two halves. They hung around in the first one, but lost their grip near the midway point, resulting in another loss against a tough but beatable opponent.
After a week to recover and learn from its most recent setback, Duke will look to climb back above .500 in conference play against its Triangle rivals.
Duke swallowed a difficult loss against Virginia Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, 17-25, 17-25, 25-21, 23-25, suffering its first defeat in ACC play after sweeping Wake Forest Wednesday.
Just 12 hours after defeating Wake Forest Wednesday night, the Blue Devils gathered back in Cameron Indoor Stadium for an 8 a.m. practice to prepare for Friday's 6:30 p.m. contest against Virginia.
Senior Emily Sklar put down an emphatic 23 kills to lead the Duke offense and got help from freshman Leah Meyer and junior Jordan Tucker, who combined to add 15 kills of their own, as the Blue Devils swept Wake Forest in their ACC opener.
After a rocky start, Duke is hoping it can turns things around with a strong performance in its ACC opener.
Being swept once hurts. Being swept twice in the same weekend means the Blue Devils need to find some answers if they want to turn things around.
The Blue Devils fought tenaciously to defend their home court, but it was not enough to slow down the undefeated Wolverines. No. 20 Michigan swept past Duke in three sets (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, dealing the Blue Devils a second loss during their six-game homestand.
Michigan is not known for its high temperatures, but right now things in the Great Lakes State are very hot. The Wolverines have blazed a trail across the Midwest, going undefeated through their first nine matches. Duke’s goal this weekend is to make sure that trail stops in Durham.
Duke quickly got the bitter taste out of its mouth from Friday's five-set loss against No. 3 Stanford, turning to reigning ACC Freshman of the Week Leah Meyer for a career-high 17 kills to push past UNC Wilmington.
Playing one of the top teams in the country, Duke sacrificed precision for power and aggressiveness. It almost paid off, until Stanford spoiled Duke’s home opener at the very last minute.
After mixed results on the road, the Blue Devils are ready to return to Cameron Indoor Stadium and start a six-game homestand this weekend against stiff competition, beginning Friday against No. 3 Stanford.
Duke won two of its three matches at the Kansas Invitational, defeating Missouri-Kansas City and Western Illinois without dropping a set, but were swept off the court by a Kansas team that entered the weekend right next to the Blue Devils on the outside looking in at the top 25.
Kansas is not known as a volleyball hotbed, so it seems a little bit of an anomaly that three Blue Devils call it home. This weekend, though, they head back to the Sunflower State and could not be more excited.
No. 25 Duke defeated Saint Mary’s 3-0 and Cal State Fullerton 3-0 Friday to start its season on a good note, but the Blue Devils let a 2-1 advantage slip away Saturday as Long Beach State roared back to claim a 3-2 victory.
The Blue Devils will take on a trio of California schools this weekend, giving several Duke players an opportunity to play close to home.
With 13 returning players this year, Duke enters the season looking to regain the form that helped the Blue Devils rise to the top of the ACC in 2013.
While senior Emily Sklar played against top international talent at the World University Games this summer, Sasha Karelov, Cadie Bates, Christina Vucich and Nicole Elattrache battled on the beaches of southern California.
The Blue Devils made the long trek out west looking to spark a deep postseason run, but never got the chance to see their title aspirations take flight.
The Blue Devils head to Seattle for first-round action Friday night, their eighth tournament appearance in the last nine seasons.
