The number nine characterizes a point at either end of the spectrum for the Duke volleyball team. Nine was the number of wins the young team recorded last season, its lowest total since 1981. However, nine is also the number of players returning this season with an extra year of experience in the ACC.
Last year was certainly a season to forget for the Blue Devils, as they finished 9-20 overall and 4-12 in the conference, but this fall has brought some changes that could turn things around-namely new head coach Jolene Nagel.
Nagel brings a history of winning with her to a team that has experience playing-but not necessarily winning-the big ones.
While last season saw Duke use three first-year players on the court at once, this season those players are no longer inexperienced freshmen. They have 29 games under their belts, including 16 ACC contests.
The core of the Blue Devils' squad, however, is its three seniors: Jami Ediger, Dominique Philipp and Chrissie Lukasiewicz.
"I've seen some great leadership from them thus far, both off the court and on the court," Nagel said. "They have shown some positive attitudes and the maturity I would expect out of seniors. We will be looking up to those players for their experience and maturity."
Ediger started every match last season and played nearly every point of the season as well. It will be up to these seniors to make up for the losses of last season's lone senior Megan Irvine and All-ACC performer Sarah
Throughout her three-year Blue Devil career, Peifer was forced to play through injuries. She played all last year with shoulder and knee problems and this spring decided to forgo her final year of eligibility.
"The impact of Sarah's absence is really going to be hard to say until we actually play a match," Ediger said. "A lot of people last year just thought Peifer would always take over if we needed it. This year she's not here, so everyone will have to step up."
Luckily for the Blue Devils, there are a lot of players who have the potential to take that step. Four players in particular will be wild cards in determining the success of the team this season: junior Nina Rybak and sophomores Ashley Harris, Pam Gottfred and Sarah Stephens.
Harris could be a pivotal player at the outside hitter position. Last season she showed signs of greatness, recording 11 kills and 21 digs in the final match of the season, but she also made her share of mental errors and freshman mistakes.
Rybak and Gottfried rotated back and forth in the setter position last season and both expect to see a great deal of action on the court this year.
Stephens, who was used sparingly last season, has the chance to make quite an impact on the front line. She is the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-2 and could wreak havoc on opposing blockers.
"I'm really seeing a lot of competition out there on the court," Nagel said. "I feel like we have the tools here
The two buzzwords around preseason practice this year are "positive" and "fundamentals." Positive, of course, describes the attitudes the players have taken this fall. Their enthusiasm has translated into quality practices on the court.
"I'm really excited about everything," Nagel said. "During this preseason, the team has really worked very hard, and they have worked well together. I couldn't be more pleased right now, but we have a lot more to do over the next week."
A positive attitude will only take a team so far without the ability to back it up. A new focus on the fundamentals of the game should prove useful as the season progresses, especially in cutting down the numbers of unforced errors.
Unforced errors will occur during a match, but they are magnified in the big points or in five-game matches, two areas in which the Blue Devils struggled last season.
"We are doing a lot more conditioning, and we have stuck with the basics a lot longer this preseason than in the past," Ediger said. "That is great because now when we step to the next level everything is laid out, and we don't have to take time to go back to the beginning."
Nagel agreed that these basics are essential to a successful season.
"We've been doing a lot of ball control and ball handling," she said. "We have done it so much it may have grown somewhat monotonous, but I feel that it is the basis for us to be able to compete this year."
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