The Duke volleyball team started slowly against North Carolina on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Blue Devils, by the time they woke up, it was too late, as UNC escaped with a four-game victory, 15-12, 15-11, 9-15, 15-11.
Duke (7-15, 6-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) was statistically even with North Carolina (15-12, 7-7 in the ACC), but suffered from inconsistency in the first two games. The Blue Devils often allowed the Tar Heels to go on six- or seven-point spurts.
In the first game, North Carolina started off strong as it rolled to a 7-1 lead, led by the aggressive play of Kristin Kruse and Anissa Cronenberg. Duke rallied to cut the deficit to 8-6, but again the Blue Devils went into a lapse of inconsistency. UNC took advantage, running off six straight points en route to a victorious first game and early advantage over Duke.
"We served pretty well and did a good job closing the middle," North Carolina head coach Joe Sagula said. "We took advantage of the lines and had a pretty good match."
Duke, with strong kills by freshman Megan Irvine and sophomore Kristen Campbell, came out strong in the second game, jumping to a 5-1 lead. But once again, sloppy play plagued the Blue Devils and North Carolina took command of the game by running off eight consecutive points. The two teams battled the rest of the way with UNC coming out on top, 15-11.
"We were not ready to play, game-wise," Duke head coach Linda Grensing said. "I don't think we were prepared to stop what they were going to do and what we needed to do."
The Blue Devils, seeming to come alive, came out rolling in the third game and began to battle the Tar Heels evenly. With the score tied at nine, senior Virginia Hall and junior Liz Neuhaus stepped up with key attacks and led the Blue Devils as they took the last six points and the third-game win to cut the UNC lead in half. Aided by Campbell's 65 overall assists, Duke set up its attack well and looked to be finding its mark against the Tar Heels.
"The positive is we got ourselves refocused and were competitive," Grensing said.
In the final game, the teams battled closely and Duke looked to have overcome the first two games and set themselves straight. When the Blue Devils took a 10-9 lead, many in the stands felt a fifth game was imminent. But Cronenberg and Kruse, who had 17 and 20 kills for the match, respectively, took over, and UNC seized the next five points and the advantage. Duke staved off several match points but could not hold out in the end and fell in the fourth game, 15-11.
"I think the difference is we got ourselves in a hole and it was tough to come back," Campbell said. "We didn't play really badly or really well, just in the middle."
Perhaps no one was more upset by the loss than Hall, who was playing the last home match of her Duke career. Hall was honored before the contest with a special presentation.
"It's definitely disappointing we lost," Hall said. "We have to work on getting out on the court and taking control."
After the game, Grensing talked about what Hall has meant to the team. Despite having been at Duke only one year, Grensing recognized the contribution Hall has made.
"The thing I admire about Virginia is she had very little court experience beforehand," Grensing said. "Since the middle of the season she has put it all together and become a very steady player."
Statistically, the match was very tight. While North Carolina held a 105-95 advantage in digs, the Blue Devils led in kills, 78-74. Individually, Duke was paced by Irvine and Neuhaus. Irvine had 20 digs and a dazzling .395 attack percentage while Neuhaus contributed 20 kills. Hall added defensive strength with 20 digs and five blocks. The Tar Heels were led by Kruse, who had 20 kills and 11 digs.
With only two games remaining, Duke soon faces the ACC tournament with a title being its only chance to qualify for an NCAA berth. As a result of Tuesday night's loss, the Blue Devils are now stuck in a fourth-place tie with North Carolina and face the likelihood of playing UNC again in the first round of the tournament. Grensing realizes her team will have to pick up its play to defeat a team it has lost to twice this year.
"Skills-wise we're ready, but mentally we've got a ways to go," Grensing said.
Sagula, however, respects this Duke team which took UNC to five sets at Chapel Hill back in September. He feels these teams have a fierce rivalry and either could win.
"We know them quite well and they know us," Sagula said. "I feel good about how we played them this year."
Before the tournament, Duke faces the challenge of taking on Georgia Tech and Clemson this weekend. These two teams are currently tied for first place in the ACC and Duke plays both on the road.
"We have a big weekend," Hall said. "Georgia Tech and Clemson are good teams so we definitely have to jump on them."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.