Volleyball travels to Wake for Halloween get-together

On Halloween night, many Duke students will don frightening costumes and venture out in search of tricks or treats. The volleyball team, however, will travel to Wake Forest, intent on striking fear into the hearts of the Demon Deacons-not with scary masks and costumes but with an intense, aggressive match.

After a weekend split of games which yielded mixed emotions-a disappointing loss against Maryland and a hard-earned win over Virginia-the Blue Devils (9-9, 6-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) are confident and prepared for tonight's match. Duke believes that it gained an extra measure of team spirit and cohesiveness in its victory against the Cavaliers that will be an extra positive against Wake (9-11, 0-6 in the ACC).

"This past weekend had a lot of positives and negatives," Duke coach Linda Grensing said. "One thing that stands out is what we did in terms of coming together to win against UVA.... It's great that we're all coming together and playing at the same level."

Tonight's match is a crucial one in Duke's quest for a second-place finish in the ACC. Conference wins on the road are hard to come by, but Wake's volleyball program is in its first year and is not as strong as some of Duke's other ACC opponents. Led by the trio of freshman Sarah Peifer and juniors Kristen Campbell and Maureen Reindl, the Blue Devils hope to bring home a victory and edge one step closer to achieving their goal.

"It's important to have a good match [against the Demon Deacons]," Grensing said. "Every match in the conference is significant, no matter who we're playing."

At this point in the season, Duke feels that its greatest strength has been its smooth, fluid passing. Tonight, though, the Blue Devils hope to focus on improving their serves and defensive play.

The Blue Devils have already beaten the Demon Deacons once this season. On Sept. 27, Duke swiftly pummeled Wake Forest 15-5, 15-7, 15-12 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Nevertheless, tonight's contest may not be as easy as the previous rout. The Demon Deacons will have the home court advantage, and, despite their struggles thus far this season, Duke knows they have not thrown in the towel on their inaugural season. Irrespective of Wake's record and previous results, the Blue Devils have their work cut out for them.

"Wake is an extremely competitive team," Grensing said. "It's a team that plays more aggressively at home. They're fighters because they have nothing to lose. We have to play hard, play at our level, and not take them lightly."