It's been a long wait.
As a matter of fact, it has been a nine- year wait for coach Jon Wilson and the volleyball team. 1984 was the last time the Blue Devils won an NCAA tournament game and advanced to the next round.
After beating South Carolina 3-1 in that year's opening round, Duke has had to face volleyball powerhouses UCLA, Kentucky and Texas in its other five NCAA matches, always resulting in an ending of its season.
But when the Blue Devils square off against Louisville tonight in Louisville, Ky., they expect things to be different. Duke has streaked to a 28-2 record this year, its best winning percentage ever. At the same time, the NCAA has expanded its postseason tournament from 32 to 48 teams, allowing Duke to be in a promising position after the seeds came out.
Grabbing the fifth seed in the South region gave Duke the chance to host 12th-seeded Louisville, which enters the tournament with a final record of 23-12 and as this season's Metro Conference champion. But due to an already-scheduled men's basketball game and the unwillingness of the NCAA to allow an afternoon tournament game, Duke--not the Cardinals--will be doing the travelling.
Duke has met Louisville the past two years, once in Louisville, and came away from both matches with 3-1 wins. This time, though, the Blue Devils are playing in more than just a regular out-of-conference matchup. The loser doesn't chalk up a moral victory and move on through its schedule. After this game the loser goes home and thinks about next year and what could have been.
For Duke, losing the homecourt advantage is more than just losing the support of a few fans and going to play at a different site. The Blue Devils have to cope with losing their emotional edge and with Louisville gaining one. While they may not have a Cameron Indoor Stadium, the fans from Louisville make sure opposing players remember where they are and who they are playing.
"I know we played them twice, but I've forgotten almost everything about those games," said junior Ashley Wacholder. "All I remember was that their fans were really obnoxious."
But while Duke is lamenting the loss of its home-court advantage, the players know there will be positive gains if they make it through this match. One large benefit will be the confidence they gain by beating a good team on its own court.
"One of the things we wanted to do this year was play well on the road," said coach Jon Wilson. "The mark of a good team is one which can go into another team's place and win. A game like this allows us to show people that we can do that."
Another big benefit for Duke will be the fact that it doesn't lose the edge gained from sweeping through the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Should they win tonight, the Blue Devils will face Kentucky in the tournament's second round. The Wildcats will have to wait until Sunday to get back on to the court due to their first-round bye.
"Practice this week has been going really well," Wacholder said. "All the players are really excited about the game. Our goal this year was to perform well in the NCAAs so there has been no letdown from the ACC championships. We are still waiting to peak."
Peaking is something which the Blue Devils are definitely doing. With three members making the ACC All-tournament team, Duke is cruising at top speed. Wacholder led the team in kills and digs and was named ACC Player of the Year.
Senior Jen Rohrig is 18th in the nation with 4.61 kills a game.
Just as efficient is junior Adrian Nicol who rates 13th in the nation with an amazing .398 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Cappy Meyer ranks ninth in the nation with a 12.89 assists per game average.
With players like this Duke is looking no further than itself and is not worried about where the game is played or who comes next.
"We're looking to play our side of the net because we know what we have to do to win," Meyer said.
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