After the volleyball bus went flying down a hill this past weekend against ACC foes North Carolina and N.C. State, it was able to finally put the brakes on with the timely appearance of its friendly neighbor, East Carolina, Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils (6-8, 1-4 in the ACC) hope to shift that bus back into drive this weekend, as they take on both Virginia (10-4, 3-1) and Maryland (9-9, 2-2) in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"This past weekend was one of those things a lot of teams go through-a type of rude awakening," coach Jolene Nagel said. "It was one of those things that makes you take a hard look at your team and a hard look at yourself as a part of that team. You kind of recommit yourself.
"I think last weekend was just a necessary part of the process for us to get better."
The 3-0 victory over ECU Tuesday night was just the Band Aid Duke needed to stop the bleeding from its previous three-match losing streak. Sophomore Ashley Harris noted how important that game was in regard to this upcoming weekend.
"That win really gives us a lot of confidence," she said. "This is just a big boost going into these conference matches."
Both of Duke's opponents this weekend come to Durham riding winning streaks. UVa has won three straight, and Maryland has notched two in a row.
The Cavaliers bring a high-octane offense into Cameron, led by middle hitter Deanna Zwarich and outside hitter Jessica Parsons. Zwarich leads the team in kills and Parsons is coming off a terrific outing versus Florida State in which she slammed 30 kills. The offense is anchored by veteran setter Mary Frances Scott, who is third in the conference in assists.
Maryland looks to outside hitter Beth Murphy for the majority of its offensive production. Murphy is fourth in the conference in kills and has led her team in that category nearly every game this season.
The Blue Devils' best weapon against these strong hitters is their blocking ability. Duke, which registered eight blocks against ECU, is tied for the ACC lead in blocking this season.
"Both of these games are going to be very challenging for us," Nagel said. "But at the same time, I think we can do very well against them if we play the way we are capable of playing. We are going to prepare our team the best we can so that they will be confident and know they can go in there and win."
While the Blue Devils are still focusing on improving as a team, Nagel realizes that just playing a good match is not what the team is looking for anymore.
"I really don't look at things in terms of wins and losses quite yet," Nagel said. "But it is a little bit more than just playing well. We need to play at a high level in every match, beating the teams we should beat and really challenging those that are more even with us.
"Wins in the matches this weekend are very attainable for us if we execute the way I know we are capable of."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.