CHAPEL HILL - As ESPN's Stuart Scott would say, "You know the Duke volleyball team is butter, because they are certainly on a roll." The volleyball team extended its winning streak to seven games this weekend with road wins over N.C. State and North Carolina.
Duke (15-12, 9-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference) traveled to Raleigh Friday night and dismissed the Wolfpack (8-19, 2-11 in ACC ) in four games, 15-8, 15-9, 10-15, 15-3. Duke kept in stride with a huge four-game win Sunday afternoon against rival UNC (14-14, 6-8 in ACC ), 15-0, 15-10, 1-15, 15-12 in Chapel Hill.
"They are building momentum in every match," Duke coach Linda Grensing said, "That's where you want to be this time of year."
With Duke leading 12-8 in the first game Friday night, sophomore Sarah Peifer, who led the team with 18 kills, served out the final three points of the match. Her serve was deadly the entire night. She was credited with one ace, but her serve forced numerous passing errors and bad hits by the Wolfpack.
"My serve has just been on the last few weeks," Peifer said. "I don't really think about it. My coach gives me the signal, and then I just go up and swing."
Peifer's swing lately has been directing the ball into all the right spots. Duke led early in the second game before N.C. State pulled within one point at 10-9. Duke proceeded, with some key sets from sophomore hitter Dominique Philipp, to finish the game out at 15-9.
The Wolfpack played tough in game three pulling out a 15-10 victory and forcing a fourth game, which turned out to be a mistake. Duke opened the fourth game with 14 straight points and won easily 15-3 thanks to some big blocks by senior Kristen Campbell and sophomore Jami Ediger-who contributed two blocks, 18 kills and 18 digs.
Friday night's game was just a warm-up for what took place Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels, who had won the last five matches against Duke, came out with early momentum by honoring all the seniors. That momentum shifted to Duke as soon as the first ball was served. The Blue Devils played a near perfect first game, winning 15-0.
"When you are up 14-0 is kind of a mixed bag," Grensing said. "There's a lot of pressure because you want to beat somebody 15-0. You start thinking about how you are playing instead of just playing. We didn't quite catch it Friday night, but I thought today we did a great job opening up the match."
The second game remained tight as UNC finally settled down. With Duke clinging to an 11-10 lead, the closer, Peifer, who had 16 kills, 25 blocks and four aces, stepped up to serve. She served out the last four points, including an ace down the left sideline at game point. Junior Megan Irvine added some key digs during the final four points as well.
Duke never gave UNC a chance in these two games. They either blocked or dug every shot the Tar Heels attempted and capitalized on their own hits.
The third game has given the Blue Devils trouble all year. This match was no different. It seemed as if a different team was on the court as the Tar Heels rallied for a 15-1 win. In the last meeting between these teams, Duke won the first two games before Carolina pulled out the final three and the match.
"I was thinking here we go again," Peifer said. "I was just hoping we could come back for the fourth game.
The fourth game appeared to follow the pattern of the previous meeting as the Tar Heels opened up a 7-3 lead. Instead of folding, the Blue Devils composed themselves and took four straight points behind the rocket, or what some would call a serve, of Peifer. Along with that serve, Duke begin hitting the ball a lot harder.
"You just need someone to spark you," Peifer said. "It's just like in practice, when one girl starts hitting, everyone starts hitting harder and harder."
With Duke leading 12-9, it appeared that UNC was about to sideout, but a beautiful save by Ediger 10 feet behind the baseline led to another point by the Blue Devils. The Tar Heels made one last run at Duke, pulling within 13-12, but that was as close as they would get.
Senior Maureen Reindl served the final two points of the match, the second of which was unreturned, for Duke's first win over UNC since 1994. Ediger was huge again on Sunday with 15 kills, a .520 hitting percentage and 11 digs for the Blue Devils. This win puts Duke in great position heading into the final weekend of ACC play.
Duke will try to continue its hot streak this weekend as it hosts Clemson, Georgia Tech, and Florida State. These three matches will likely determine the second seed for the upcoming ACC tournament.
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