Volleyball enters ACC tourney as heavy underdog

Charles Barkley has been known to say that the first 82 games of the year are the preseason and that the real season starts at playoff time. Well, the Duke volleyball team heads into the ACC Tournament in Maryland this weekend with that same attitude.

After a season of disappointments, the Blue Devils (9-19, 4-12 in the ACC) are seeded eighth but look to make a strong showing in the tournament. They open up play against the No. 7 seed, Maryland (12-15, 5-11), today at 5 p.m.

Duke split the season series with the Terrapins, although it fell to its ACC foe 3-1 just last Saturday. The match versus Maryland was symbolic of the Blue Devils' season thus far, as they opened up strong with a win in the opening game.

After gaining a match point for a 2-0 lead, mental errors led to a Terrapin comeback and eventual victory. A win could have potentially given Duke the sixth seed, but the loss set up this rematch.

The first time these two teams met this season was possibly one of Duke's best conference performances. The Blue Devils cruised to a 3-0 victory, only allowing Maryland 19 total points.

Despite its poor conference record, Duke has reason to be optimistic about its chances in the tournament. It played every team tough and was just a few points away from having a much better record.

It is those points, however, that have the Blue Devils in the situation they are in. If they can manage to keep their composure and finish games strongly, then a few victories in the tourney is not out of the question.

Duke will rely on Peifer, who has led the team in kills and digs all season and is second in the ACC in both categories.