Momentum can be a funny thing. Watch a team lose a close game, then lose two more badly. Watch a team come from behind in an exhilarating win, and suddenly there's no stopping it.
Such was the case with Duke volleyball this weekend.
After being shutout, 3-0, by Georgia Tech on Friday in a pivotal game in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, the Blue Devils rebounded for an uplifting victory over Clemson on Saturday.
The win left Duke with the third spot in the conference heading into the ACC Tournament at Georgia Tech this weekend.
"Against Georgia Tech, we let down mentally, and didn't stay consistent," coach Linda Grensing said. "The environment there is a tough one. It's a small, loud gym."
Against the Yellow Jackets, Duke started strong, losing a back-and-forth first game, 16-14.
"We did well in the first game, then we let down mentally and emotionally," Grensing said.
Duke dropped the next two games to Georgia Tech, 15-6 and 15-10. The loss dropped Duke behind Georgia Tech in the ACC, and gave the Yellow Jackets a firm grasp on second place.
"Georgia Tech was really after us, especially after we beat them last time [a 3-0 Duke victory in Durham]," junior blocker Jill Van Oort said. "They have some really big hitters, and we weren't getting in front of them like we should have."
After the close first game, Georgia Tech responded with hitting percentages of .512 and .404 in the next two games, compared with Duke's .311 and .245.
"The offense wasn't executing," senior hitter Laura Krech said. We just weren't doing things that we have been doing the whole season. Because the first game was so close, you could tell that took a lot of excitement and drive out of us. Instead of coming back in the second game, we kind of collapsed. That carried over into the third game. We should have had a tougher mental attitude."
In the middle of the first game of the Georgia Tech match, the Blue Devils were weakened when junior setter Kristen Campbell went up for a block and came down with a sprained thumb.
"It was hard because when you set, thumbs are what direct the ball," said Campbell, who set the all-time Duke career assist record against Clemson. "It made it really frustrating, especially in a game like that when we knew that every point was important."
Against Clemson, the Blue Devils were able to turn around the momentum which had plagued them against the Yellow Jackets. They rallied around Campbell, who continued to stay in the game.
"We were all scared when Kristen hurt her thumb," Van Oort said. "She is one of those players who will play through pain like anything. She didn't just set well for someone with a sore thumb-she set well, period... The fact that she stayed in there, and didn't act hurt, really boosted us."
Facing the Tigers, Duke took the first game, 15-7, but fell in the second, 15-10. After a pep talk from Grensing between games, Duke fell behind in the third game, 5-0, before rallying to win, 15-10. In the fourth, the momentum for the Blue Devils kept rolling, as they dominated Clemson, 15-2.
The Duke defense stepped up against the Tigers, never allowing Clemson's hitting percentage to exceed .190. The match was highlighted by the fourth and deciding game, in which Duke had a .750 hitting percentage, converting nine of 12 attempts. In the same game, Clemson was held to a -.190 percentage, matching six kills with 10 errors.
The dominating way in which Duke ended the Clemson match proves a good end to the regular season, as Duke prepares for the ACC Tournament this weekend.
"Coming back and going into Clemson and having the ability to stay strong is a huge momentum push," Grensing said. "It shows we know how to stay strong in pressure situations, and that's what the ACC Tournament is."
Duke will find out who its opponent will be in the tournament today.
"We've got to focus on our side of the net and not on who the other team is," Van Oort said. "If everyone stays strong and steady, we should do really well in the tournament."
The Blue Devils hope to do well enough in the tournament to earn a place in the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the ACC Tournament gets an automatic bid. Short of that, Duke will have to compete with other schools for one of the at-large bids offered.
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