Chapel Hill, N.C. - The volleyball team headed into Tuesday night's match against North Carolina hoping to avenge a heart-breaking five-game loss suffered earlier this season. Instead it came away with another dose of disappointment, falling in five games yet again, 3-15, 15-11, 11-15, 15-7, 15-11.
"Personally, I think that we are a better team than Carolina if we play, and if we're determined to put in everything," coach Linda Grensing said. "In part, it was a lack of focus and taking care of the little things. I think we got very undisciplined at some key points and just panicked."
After unraveling at the end of the fourth game and at the start of the fifth game, the Blue Devils stormed back to take an 11-9 lead in the decisive frame. The wheels fell off once again, however, as the Tar Heels captured the final six points of the match to garner the victory.
"We certainly had steadied it out at that point," Grensing said. "It's a combination of what we're doing at that point and what they're doing. We had more confidence in ourselves because things were going our way, but once Carolina got into a little bit of a rhythm again and started hitting a little harder, we didn't step up to that height."
Duke (11-10, 8-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) stormed out of the gate, dominating UNC (16-10, 6-6 in the ACC) in the first frame, but the make up of the match changed at the start of the second game as the Tar Heels came out more focused.
"I think momentum really shifted in the second game," Grensing said. "That was when Carolina finally started playing-I don't think they really played at all in the first game. They are a much better team than they were in that first game."
The Blue Devils dropped the second game following a see-saw battle and then rebounded to take the third game under similarly even playing conditions. The fourth game turned into a disaster, as Duke fell behind and finished in lackluster fashion.
"In the second game, they put some pressure one and we didn't particularly respond," Grensing said. "That kind of fed into a cycle for the rest of the match. I think it showed a little more clearly in the fourth game because I really felt like we stopped playing.... Then we really didn't start playing in the fifth game either."
Also contributing to the breakdown may have been the temporary loss of freshman outside hitter Sarah Peifer. Peifer reinjured her ailing left shoulder late in the third game and sat out the first part of fourth game before returning. Despite a strong performance by her replacement, freshman Dominique Phillipp, the team chemistry may have been disrupted.
"Sarah being out probably hurt us, but it shouldn't have," Grensing said. "We have the kind of team where anyone can step in at any time and still be very competitive and solid."
Peifer was solid in defeat, notching 24 digs and leading a balanced attack with 17 kills. Five Blue Devils registered 13 kills or more, including Liz Neuhaus with 15, Jami Ediger with 13, Maureen Reindl with 17 and Megan Irvine with 14. Irvine also finished with an impressive .462 hitting percentage.
The loss puts a minor dent in Duke's hopes of finishing in the top two in the conference, and it always hurts to lose to the Tar Heels, but the Blue Devils are intent on moving on.
"Certainly you can't erase the fact that this loss is in somebody's mind, but you need to refocus in terms of what's going on now," Grensing said. "Really, in the big picture, this isn't that important. The rivalry is something that is emphasized on campus, but for us, it is not the ultimate match of the year."
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