The volleyball team continued its up and down season last night in Winston-Salem as it fell to Wake Forest in five games. The Blue Devils (6-7, 1-2 in the ACC) held a 2-1 game advantage but could not manage to close the match in either games four or five.
Although Duke has dominated this series, this is a much-improved Wake team. With the win, the Deacons have been successful in seven of their last eight matches.
"Our play tonight was inconsistent," coach Linda Grensing said. "We were up and down in our effort level, and we made some errors in key situations."
Duke, who won both meetings versus the Demon Deacons last season by scores of 3-0, appeared to be on that same path last night, winning the opening game of the match.
Wake Forest (12-3, 2-1 in the ACC) bounced back to pull out the second game. This was the first game the Deacons have taken from the Blue Devils in all of their meetings. Before last night, Duke held a 4-0 mark against Wake all-time, with each victory at a count of 3-0.
The Blue Devils rebounded to win game three and appeared to be on their way to a victory. But the Deacons seemed to put the past two years behind them at this point and rallied for a victory in game four, forcing a fifth and deciding game.
Duke's struggles in five-game matches continued as Wake pulled out the final game 15-12. The Blue Devils are 1-3 in five-game matches this season and have lost 12 of their last 13 matches that have gone to five.
"Our leaders have got to step up," Grensing said. "We have to have the people in those positions really take accountability and be consistent game in and game out.
"On the other side, our freshmen have to work to be consistent in pressure situations. But they are still freshmen, so I think you give them more leeway in critical situations than you would expect to give your older players."
This inconsistency, however, has been seen throughout the ACC in the early going. This past weekend, Duke defeated Maryland but lost to Virginia. Wake Forest, on the other hand, took apart Virginia 3-0 but then fell to Maryland.
While a 1-2 conference mark is not ideal for the Blue Devils, the unpredictability of the conference thus far shows that any team can win it. Duke hopes that quality practices and game experience will help to remedy its inconsistent play.
"Our team, especially the freshmen, need to learn how to make a better choice in certain situations, so that in the future they are executing well when it is critical," Grensing said.
The Blue Devils will return to action Saturday night, as they travel to Tallahassee to take on the team picked to win the ACC, Florida State.
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