Duke dominates ACC foes in home sweep

A cornered Blue Devil can be a dangerous beast.

Relegated into mediocrity in the Atlantic Coast Conference after dropping two tough matches last weekend, Duke came out roaring this weekend and unleashed its fury on Clemson and Georgia Tech, who had a combined record of 35-11 before coming to Durham.

The Blue Devils methodically disposed of Clemson 15-7, 15-8, 15-9 Friday, then sent Georgia Tech packing 15-5, 15-3, 15-12 Saturday. The pair of victories moves Duke's ACC record to 5-3, putting it in the thick of a very tight battle for second place.

"We came out with a real mission in mind," coach Linda Grensing said. "[Last weekend] leaves a real bitter taste in your mouth. [The team] came into this weekend hungry to turn that around."

That mission apparently involved complete annihilation of the opposition. The team hit on all cylinders-blocking, digging, passing and setting. Grensing noted she has not seen the team play at the this caliber in back-to-back matches this season.

"They really showed themselves how much there is in terms of them being a team," Grensing said. "They saw how much they can draw out of each other when they make demands out of each other."

Freshman outside hitter Sarah Peifer continued to state her case for the ACC Rookie of the Year after pacing the team in kills and digs for both matches. Peifer notched 37 kills for the weekend, averaging 6.17 kills/game and hit at a .360 clip, good for Rookie of the Week honors in the conference.

Keying the stellar defensive play for the weekend was the blocking at the net. The presence of senior Liz Neuhaus, sophomore Megan Irvine and freshman Jami Ediger provided the defense with a huge lift by limiting the options for opposing hitters.

The team's precise passing led to many easy scoring opportunities through the setting of junior Kristin Campbell. With her fifth assist in the match, Campbell moved ahead of Karen Greiner into third place among Duke's all-time assist leaders.

"The way the team played gave me the opportunities to set anyone," Campbell said. "Everybody was hitting really well and I could give the ball to anyone tonight and I felt like they could put it away."

For the match, Campbell handed out 37 assists to a multi-dimensional attack, as four players took over 20 swings. While Peifer led the team with 17 kills, Neuhaus, Irvine, Ediger and Reindl all registered timely kills.

Early on, it appeared Duke was in for a long night, as Clemson jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first game. However, the fiery play of Neuhaus, who along with Ediger had five kills in the first game, ignited a 14-2 Duke run.

"After Clemson went out, we maintained our court composure and confidence," Grensing said. "We were very patient with ourselves, and we knew what we were going to accomplish."

In a script-like fashion, Clemson again forged a 4-1 lead in game two, only to see the Blue Devils put together a 14-4 spurt to close the game. Peifer found her rhythm with an arsenal of cross-court and down-the-line missiles. The third game was a see-saw battle that saw five ties and Clemson taking a 9-7 lead before Duke reeled off eight unanswered points to take the match.

"[This game] shows the level we're capable of playing at," Grensing said.

However, the team's capabilities were extended a bit further Saturday. The Yellow Jackets (22-4, 6-3) rode a four-game winning streak into the game but were upended in a most unpleasant manner. The Blue Devils rudely welcomed Tech into Cameron with a pair of thrashings, 15-5, 15-3, epitomizing Duke's dominance and Tech's ineptitude.

"[The team] made everything work," Grensing said. "Whether it was a slid play or broken play, they made it work."

In those two games, the Yellow jackets stung themselves time and time again with their inability to pass, rarely giving Tech's All-ACC setter Andrea Nachtrieb a chance to showcase her skills.

"If [Georgia Tech] had a weakness, passing is a part of it," Grensing said. "One of the things where we did a great job is where we put our serve. [The serves] were aggressive, made them move, and emphasized their weaknesses."

A frustrated Georgia Tech team came out determined and took the first four points of game three. On the verge of losing their momentum, Duke again relied on its defense and the hitting of Peifer to withstand the rally. Peifer took 18 swings in the final game, connecting for nine kills.

"In the third game, we changed our focus from playing to win, to playing safe," Grensing said. "We hurt ourselves a little bit because what put us ahead was that we were playing so aggressive."

Duke eventually built a 14-8 lead before holding off a final Tech rally to secure the win 15-12. The most telling statistic of the match was the disparity in hitting percentage: Duke's .302 to Tech's .083.

Campbell once again registered 37 sets along with 11 digs. Irvine and Reindl shared the offensive load with Peifer, notching 10 and nine kills, respectively.

"[A balanced offense] opens up a lot of opportunities, we can hold off blockers and get people one-on-one more often," Irvine said. "That takes a lot of pressure off our big hitter."

The two awe-inspiring performances not only improved the club's standings within the ACC, but also gave them some much-needed confidence, as they will tackle the same two teams next weekend who handed them two losses a week ago, Maryland and Virginia.

"We are starting to get more confidence in the way we play," Irvine said. "The conference is up for grabs this year, if we can stay steady from this point on, we have a really good chance."