It is indeed a game of inches. The volleyball team headed into this weekend's two home matches with an opportunity to emerge with two wins and a share of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Instead, it came away with two tough losses.
Saturday, the Blue Devils (6-8, 3-3 in the ACC) played host to unbeaten ACC leader, Maryland. Despite a tremendous amount of intensity and focus, Duke fell just short, losing in heart-breaking fashion, 16-14, 13-15, 15-12, 12-15, 16-14.
"I thought we played a great match, and it is the type of match where we fought hard and left everything on the floor," Duke coach Linda Grensing said. "We just didn't do some of the little things in critical situations."
The Blue Devils buckled down against the powerful Terrapins (15-3, 8-0) from the onset, hustling on defense-blocking and digging better than they have all season. For the match, Duke tallied 120 digs, lead by junior Maureen Reindl's 33, second all-time in a match for the Blue Devils.
"[Saturday] we had 100 plus digs and that is a key to keeping us in matches," junior setter Kristen Campbell said. "We need to be scrappy and keep the ball up."
That scrappiness shone through all night as Duke came back numerous times, finally forcing a fifth game. The Blue Devils trailed throughout the final game, which is played under rally score conditions. Down 14-10, Duke stormed back to tie the game at 14 before surrendering the final two points.
Sunday's match against Virginia provided the Blue Devils with a chance to rebound. Duke came out strong and took the first game 15-12, then faltered in the next two games, dropping them both 15-13 after being knotted at 13. In the fourth game, the Blue Devils dug themselves a large hole and were unable to catch up as Virginia took the match 15-10.
"The loss [Sunday] was a bad loss; I don't think we were prepared," Grensing said. "[Virginia] wanted that match, and they got it because they just fought harder, longer."
Leading the way for the Cavaliers (16-5, 4-4) was senior Whitney Casey, who registered 24 kills and 23 digs and inspired her teammates with both her powerful attacks and uncanny hustle.
Freshman Sarah Peifer was a force for Duke at the net, tallying a career-high 30 kills for the match, bringing her total for the weekend to 54. She also led the team with 24 digs.
"I thought Sarah Peifer did all she could do," Grensing said. "I think we've done a good job of balancing the offense, and any time you do that, it makes it harder for the other team to get a defense that targets one hitter. It probably would have been best for Virginia to have camped out on Peifer all match, and I think towards the end they did. The more difficult the situation, the better she plays."
Peifer gained confidence as the match progressed, combining her devastating power with well-placed taps around the Cavalier blockers.
"She is reading so well," Campbell said. "She hit the one corner what seemed like a million times. Wherever she was, she had great shots."
Campbell directed the Blue Devil attack with great precision, notching 84 assists in the match-the second-highest total in Duke history for one match.
The Blue Devils also received large contributions in both matches from several role players. Senior Laura Krech and junior Sarah Corder provided good ball control and timely digs. Freshman Dominique Phillip was particularly effective on offense, registering eight kills in only 20 attempts.
Senior Liz Neuhaus came on strong with 13 kills against Virginia and inspired the team with her highly emotional style of play. She teamed with junior Jill Van Oort, who received significant playing time for the first time this season, to fire up Duke whenever it started to lose focus.
"They have always been our big emotional leaders," Campbell said. "It really helps us out when we are tired or out of focus and they can give us a big lift."
Duke now has one week to prepare for another conference double-dip at home, as Clemson and Georgia Tech visit next weekend. If the Blue Devils want to stay in contention for the regular-season ACC crown, they will need to come through against the Tigers and Yellow Jackets.
This weekend was far from a total loss as Duke hopes to utilize the lessons of these two matches to go into next weekend better prepared.
"What we have to build off of is... one, take the mistakes and learn from them and then let it go," Grensing said. "On the other side of the coin, we have to take the things we did well and increase their frequency. We need to focus on the positives of this weekends-we did have some very strong moments."
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