After a week's rest, the volleyball team will be back in action this weekend, hoping to continue with its success in the Atlantic Coast Conference where it is in third place. The Blue Devils have a 6-11 record overall and are 5-2 in the ACC.
Duke takes on Georgia Tech tonight at 7:30 p.m. and Clemson on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be played in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The week-long break had been a sigh of relief for the Blue Devils who had just completed a tough stretch of their schedule, traveling to Virginia and Maryland on consecutive days and journeying to play Penn State three days later.
"We have a lot of people that are injured, and this gives them an opportunity to rest," head coach Linda Grensing said. "Sometimes in the middle of your season you've been going a long time, it's nice just to have a break."
Duke has been traditionally strong against conference teams, having been ACC champions for the past four years. The Blue Devils are ending the season where they feel most comfortable--in their conference. Their last seven games before the ACC tournament are against league teams.
Yet Duke is still a young team. Every game, whether they win or lose, the Blue Devils come away with a lesson learned.
"What we have focused on is, what is a winner?" Grensing said. "What is a competitor? It doesn't matter what your overall record is if you are accomplishing things along the way, because you're getting better as a player and as a team."
Excellent play is expected from sophomore outside hitter Maureen Reindl and freshman Megan Irvine. Grensing feels that blocking and defense will be extremely important against these two teams.
This will be the first time that Duke will face these teams this season. No. 22 Georgia Tech is 19-6 overall and 7-2 in the ACC. The Blue Devils' series record against the Yellow Jackets is 19-1, and Duke hopes to improve that record to 20-1 this weekend. Georgia Tech has won its last three matches in dominating fashion, beating its opponents in three games each time.
Clemson and Georgia Tech are tied for first place in the ACC at 7-2. The Blue Devils have a 18-4 series record against the Tigers.
"These are two good matches," Grensing said." We have to come out and be competitive against them and create a situation where we put pressure on Georgia Tech and on Clemson so that we can beat them."
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