"I think I can. I think I can."
There is possibly no better way to describe the volleyball team's season than with the comparison to The Little Engine That Could. The Little Engine kept getting closer and closer to the top of the mountain but struggled to make it over. Similarly, the Blue Devils continue to come within a few points of victory, only to collapse and fall back down the mountain.
This weekend, Duke (7-15, 2-9 in the ACC) will have two more chances to get its season back on track, as it travels to face No. 24 North Carolina (20-5, 8-2) Friday at 7 p.m. and North Carolina State (13-10, 0-10) Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Tar Heels, who are at the top of the ACC standings, have rebounded this season after a 14-17 campaign last year.
"We're going in there with the mindset that we're as good, if not better, than UNC if we play up to our potential," junior Jami Ediger said.
UNC owns one win over the Blue Devils already this season, as it defeated Duke 3-0 in Durham earlier this month. The Tar Heels, behind the power of outside hitters Tori Seibert and Alicia Alford, had been on quite a roll before losing their last contest, against Virginia, in five games.
The Blue Devils come into the contest carrying a four-match losing streak, the last three of which were 3-0 defeats. This match poses an opportunity for Duke to show that it is not dead in the ACC. The last few losses have been closely contested matches, although they still had the same end result.
History is in Duke's favor, though, as it defeated Carolina last year in Chapel Hill, 3-1, including a 15-0 victory in one game.
"We're going in there looking to play our best and leave everything on the floor," Ediger said. "Even if we come out of there with a loss, they will still hopefully have to carry us off the floor because we tried so hard."
Duke makes the short trip to Raleigh Saturday night to face cellar-dweller N.C. State. The Wolfpack, which has won only six of 39 games in conference play, started strong, but a winless conference record tells the story of late.
Duke defeated State 3-0 in the two teams' last meeting, which was in Durham. Despite the conference goose egg, the Blue Devils are not taking this team lightly, especially on the heels of the match against UNC.
"State is a really crafty team," Ediger said. "They definitely have the ability to be one of those teams that sneak up on you when you don't realize it."
Sarah Peifer has been solid for Duke all season, leading the Blue Devils in both digs and kills. The squad also received a boost last week from the impressive blocking of Sarah Stevens.
Mental errors at key points in the match are the key to the Blue Devils' success this weekend. Each loss over the past weekend was competitive throughout, but Duke could not win the big points late in the game.
The Blue Devils hope to follow the path of the Engine and make it over the mountain this weekend with two ACC wins.
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