At the start of the season the Blue Devils made two goals for themselves: finish in the top four in the Atlantic Coast Conference and then win the ACC tournament. By winning two of their final three conference matches, Duke realized their first goal by finishing third place in the conference. This weekend the Blue Devils travel to Atlanta hoping to make their second goal a reality.
Duke (14-11 overall, 10-6 ACC) believes it has the talent that will be needed to win the tournament. The only question is if it has the mental toughness to do so. During the regular season, the Blue Devils had trouble remaining focused throughout entire matches. In the always difficult ACC Tournament, mentality is critical to success.
"We need to be mentally in all three games all the time," junior Maureen Reindl said. "We've been playing inconsistent. We'll play really well in the first game and then suddenly drop the next. With the caliber of team we'll be facing [in the tournament], we cannot do that."
To win the tournament, the Blue Devils will call on all their players. Especially important, however, will be the players with tournament experience. Duke will look for juniors Kristen Campbell and Reindl and sophomore Megan Irvine to have big weekends, leading the team to victory. Also critical will be the play of ACC Rookie of the Year Sarah Peifer. Although recently bothered by a shoulder injury, she says she is ready to play.
Duke's first match promises to challenge their concentration. The Blue Devils will be playing sixth-seeded Virginia, Friday at 7 p.m. The two teams split its season series with each other, each one winning on the other's home court. Both matches were struggles, the first one going four games, and the second lasting five. In all nine games the loser had no less then 10 points.
"If we waver at all and let strings of points happen for Virginia, the match is going to be a four or five game battle again," coach Linda Grensing said.
The last time Duke and Virginia faced each other was three weeks ago, and the Blue Devils feel that they have improved significantly since then, especially defensively. To defeat the Cavaliers, Duke hopes to serve and hit aggressively in order to knock them out of their offensive system.
"We can easily beat them," Peifer said. "We just have to close it."
If the Blue Devils do indeed beat Virginia, their next opponent would likely be Georgia Tech, who squares off with seventh-seeded Florida State in its first-round game. This potential match up would be a revenge game for Duke. Last Friday the Yellow Jackets shut out the Blue Devils 3-0, claiming second place in the ACC. Duke played well in the first game, a see-saw battle that was eventually won by Georgia Tech 16-14, but faded after that.
"Last time we got in our minds 'well, we didn't win the first game therefore we can't win the match'," Grensing said. "[This time] we need to take it one ball at a time and see how many of those balls we can win."
Duke can defeat the Yellow Jackets as they proved one month ago in Cameron Indoor Stadium, destroying Georgia Tech in three straight games. The Georgia Tech gym is a loud, difficult gym to play in, but after last weekend's game they have experience there, and they believe the home court advantage will not prove to be a vital factor in the match.
If Duke does indeed advance to the finals of this tournament, it seems destined to take on the Goliath of ACC volleyball, No. 22 Maryland. The Terrapins finished first in the ACC and their arsenal includes ACC player of the year, Daune Koester. Although unbeaten in the conference, the Blue Devils believe the mighty can fall. In its two matches against Maryland, Duke has played well. In October, the two teams played a thrilling five game match in which each game was determined by no more than three points.
"There is a lot of revenge factor," Reindl said. "We feel that if we can get to the finals we can beat anyone who's there."
To win the tournament, however, Duke can never lose focus.
"To win this, we have to be rocks for three straight matches," Grensing said.
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