The volleyball team is on a roll.
After a five-set loss to Maryland, it has won four consecutive matches in straight games. Sunday afternoon, the Blue Devils continued their winning ways, disposing of Mercer (13-13) in just 40 minutes in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
By dominating the net, Duke (13-12, 7-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) steamrolled the overmatched Bears, 15-5, 15-2, 15-2. The Blue Devils racked up 37 kills-hitting .424-compared to Mercer's 14 kills and -.045 hitting percentage. Duke took advantage of the many opportunities given by the Bears, who were frequently unable to set up plays, forcing themselves to send the ball weakly over the net.
"I think the match was a good [opportunity for us to] focus on taking care of the first contacts, the first ball across the net and really making that a good ball and going after it aggressively," Duke coach Linda Grensing said.
Sophomore Sarah Peifer led both teams with 10 kills despite leaving the match midway through the third game. She did not commit a single error, tallying an impressive hitting percentage of .667.
As impressive as her hitting numbers were, Peifer stole the show with her jump serve. Duke was up 7-2 in the second game, when Peifer went on to serve out the final eight points. Only once during this stretch did Mercer have the opportunity to return a Peifer serve with a spike, which flew past the back line.
The Blue Devils promptly won a side-out to began the third game, setting the stage for Peifer to serve again. She won seven points in a row until the Bears finally won a side-out. In total, Peifer served for 15 straight points, including six service aces.
"Sarah's serving was probably a little more than Mercer has seen before or could handle," Grensing said.
Sophomore Dominique Philipp chipped in with seven kills, while Jenny Stadler and Jami Ediger each had six. Junior Megan Irvine led the team with six digs and Kristen Campbell had 22 assists.
The Blue Devils now head into the final stretch of their season, taking on five conference rivals in the next two weeks. Currently third in the conference, Duke hopes to climb higher in the standings by building on some of the things it has worked on the last four matches. The Blue Devils have given playing time to several non-starters and have experimented with different offensive schemes.
"In part, those matches were important because they helped us build confidence in terms of us seeing what we're capable of doing as a team," Grensing said. "Second of all, I think they were important matches because they were momentum builders. They were matches that we could really build on some things, work on some things on the court and that's important in the finish of the ACC."
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