The volleyball team's season had been described as a roller coaster in the early going, but at this point, a free fall is likely a more accurate comparison. The Blue Devils fell to Florida State 3-0 in Tallahassee on Saturday night, as they dropped to 6-8 on the year and 1-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Duke never threatened in this contest as the Seminoles (11-6, 2-2 in the ACC), who were the preseason pick to win the conference, controlled each game en route to the 15-8, 15-7, 15-9 win. This match was a big win for Florida State, a team that has performed well below expectations this season.
"Coach [Linda Grensing] said we played really well for the first point and the last point, but she didn't see that much fight in us in the middle," junior Sarah Peifer said.
The Blue Devils are in quite a slump as of late. They have lost three consecutive conference games after starting 1-0 in the ACC. Two of the three losses have been 3-0 defeats, and Duke has also dropped six of its last eight contests.
The Florida State attack was led by LaToya Washington, who notched a match-high 16 kills and 13 digs. Washington was aided by Seminole setter Fiona Bolten's 50 assists.
The Blue Devils, who were never able to get on track, were led by Peifer, who recorded 11 kills. Freshman Pam Gottfred led the team in assists with 25, but this number was only half that of her Seminole counterpart. Dominique Philipp also added eight digs in the loss.
After losing 11 straight matches to Duke, Florida State has started a streak of its own. The Seminoles have won the last two contests in the series, including a five-game victory in the final regular-season match last year.
"I think things are going to come around eventually," Peifer said. "We're just trying to piece things together right now."
The Blue Devils still have 12 conference matches remaining, so things are not completely lost for the season. The main goal for Duke is to get back into the form that allowed it to start the season with wins in four of its six matches.
"The ACC is still wide open," Peifer said. "We've only played four games. I know we didn't start out great, but we still have another round against those teams and we have some against teams we haven't played yet. We're just going to keep learning more in practice."
Duke has its next opportunity to turn things around Friday night, as it travels to Clemson for a date with the Tigers at 7 p.m.
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