Charlottesville was not kind to the Duke volleyball team.
Despite pushing Virginia to the limit in every game, Duke could not steal one from the Wahoos Saturday night at University Hall, as the Cavaliers took the match 3-0.
Things looked good for the Blue Devils (9-11, 3-7 in the ACC) in the early going. They fell behind 3-1 but took 10 of the next 13 points for an 11-6 lead. But after earning a game point at 14-7, the bottom fell out.
Virginia (15-6, 8-3) scored the next eight points of the match, taking a 15-14 lead on a service ace by Deanna Zwarich. Duke stayed alive for a few more points, but the game ended on another service ace, this time by Andrea Fischer, to give her team the 19-17 win.
"The main thing that broke down for us in that game was our passing," senior Jami Ediger said. "We couldn't get the ball to our target to leave more than one option for our hitters. That really took a toll on us.
"Virginia kept having their momentum increase. They just kept fighting harder and harder, but we just kind of backed off. We didn't seem to have the mental toughness to finish off the match."
The Blue Devils regrouped in game two, winning seven of eight points for a 10-8 advantage. Unfortunately for Duke, history quickly repeated itself.
Virginia scored seven unanswered points, the final three of which were aces, to take the second game 15-10.
"It's hard to forget about the fact that you just lost a game you definitely should have won," Ediger said. "I think that definitely factored into the second game."
UVa carried its momentum into the final game of the match, jumping out to a 10-1 lead. During this stretch, the Cavs took 17-of-18 points going back to game two.
After Virginia gained a match point at 14-3, it appeared Duke might return the favor and make a comeback of its own. Due in large part to Ashley Harris' four service aces, the Blue Devils pulled within 14-12.
But the Cavs' Katie Jones slammed the door on Duke as she recorded the team's 13th ace to earn the 15-12 win.
Fischer was the story of the match for the Wahoos, as she put home 13 kills and hit at a .526 clip. Mary Frances Scott added seven kills herself, along with 36 assists.
Duke was led by Dominique Philipp's 11 kills and nine digs, and Ediger's 13 digs and four block assists. Harris also contributed an impressive seven service aces to the Blue Devil cause.
Duke played outstanding defense against the Cavs, outblocking them 16-8 and digging 10 more balls than its opponent. The Blue Devils, however, were marred by uneven play once again.
"Inconsistency is our main problem right now," Ediger said. "Obviously, we were doing something right to get our points. We just need to be able to play each point like it's the last point."
Duke will return home Tuesday night to take on Wake Forest, a team that defeated the Blue Devils 3-0 in Winston-Salem last week. Ediger expects a different story in Cameron Indoor Stadium this time around, however.
"You always get a little more fired up for the home matches," she said. "We kind of embarrassed ourselves when we played at Wake Forest because we didn't play well. So, I think we want to prove that we are a better team and that we can beat Wake."
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