If you consider losing all seven five-game matches last year a learning experience, then the volleyball team has a lot to teach its five freshmen about competing in the ACC.
Those lessons can start tonight.
Duke (5-5) will open conference play tonight at 7 p.m. against Maryland (5-4) and take on Virginia (11-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Last season, the Blue Devils were one of the preseason favorites to win the ACC, but failure to perform in the pressure of the fifth game left them with a 9-7 record in the conference and a fifth-place finish. Duke lost to eventual ACC champion Maryland in their first meeting last October in four games and then bested Virginia in three the day after.
In its second meeting with the Terrapins, the Blue Devils came closer to victory after taking a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth game. But as was true all season, they could not finish off the Terps, dropping the final two games.
"[Coach Grensing] is concerned that we're not in shape for five-game matches yet," freshman Dorrette Burwell said. "We run a mile every Monday and have harder practices with a lot of conditioning on Tuesdays."
The hard work seems to be paying off modestly as Duke is 1-2 in five-game matches this season. Although the record may not look too impressive, it's one more win than it could muster in five-game matches last season.
That is not the only good news for the Blue Devils. Their opponent tonight, Maryland, ranks at the bottom of the conference in a number of statistical categories. The Terrapins hold claim to the lowest hitting percentage (.184), assists per game (11.18), kills per game (13.13) and service aces per game (1.23).
Unfortunately for Duke, the weekend's other opponent, Virginia, has only lost one match, to No. 24 Minnesota. The Cavaliers are fresh from downing Georgetown at the Jefferson Cup Invitational.
While the Blue Devils hold a slight statistical edge over the Wahoos, the players' concern is that they will not do what is needed mentally to win on the court.
"As a team, we have to be mentally stronger," freshman Pam Gottfred said, "[and] focus on eliminating mental errors."
Sophomore setter Nina Rybak, who recorded a career-high 68 assists in Duke's five-game win against Ball State, said that the key to winning such matches is to play with the intensity it did against the Cardinals.
"We played with a lot of heart [against Ball State]," Rybak said. "We really wanted it, and did what it took. That's something that may have been missing last year.
"[Maryland] may have lost a few good players, but they will still be a really good team. It should be a good match, and we'll get a feel for the ACC. It seems like [Virginia] is getting better all the time-they're the team to beat."
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