As the East Carolina volleyball team rolled into town this afternoon, it should have been serenaded by the Blue Devils with an old '80s tune: "You give me just what I needed."
After a tough 0-2 weekend and three-game losing streak, Duke (6-8) rebounded last night at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a 3-0 win over the Pirates (5-6).
While the Blue Devils got out of the gates quickly, opening an 8-2 lead in game one, coach Jolene Nagel claimed the scoreboard was not the center of attention.
"We've focused on trying to play each point the best we possibly can," Nagel said. "I didn't even know we were up by that much, because I have been trying to harp on them to not even look at the score, just play each ball the best you can. That was really important for us, and I think that kind of took [East Carolina] down a little bit."
This strategy certainly seemed to work for Duke. After ECU rallied to pull within two at 10-8, the Blue Devils regrouped to take the next five points and the first game, 15-10.
The story read quite similarly in game two, as the Pirates found themselves trailing 6-2 in the early-going. In this all-important game, Duke did not relent, as it rode the serve of sophomore Pamela Gottfred to a 15-6 win.
The focus seen in the first two games was absent for the start of the third game, with East Carolina jumping out to a 7-1 advantage. But the Blue Devils quickly battled back to gain an 8-7 lead. At this point, the Pirates knew their destiny, and Duke cruised to the 15-10 win and the match victory.
"We really came together as a team and worked together," sophomore Ashley Harris said. "We were able to bring up the people that had been struggling and get them in the groove again."
As in their previous victories, fundamentals were a key for the Blue Devils. They dominated nearly every statistical category, almost doubling the Pirates in hitting percentage and committing seven fewer return errors.
Harris led the way with 14 kills and seven digs. Senior Chrissie Lukasiewicz provided quality minutes on defense as well, recording 14 digs and also notching two service aces.
"The team was pretty confident as they went out there tonight," Nagel said, "and that didn't change as the match went on, which is a really good thing."
In a way, this was a must-win match for the Blue Devils. It is still early in the ACC season, but the three-game conference losing streak certainly weighed on their shoulders.
This non-conference match gave Duke a perfect opportunity to relax and get back in the win column, especially with two key ACC home matches coming up this weekend vs. Virginia and Maryland.
"For our team, this was a really important match because we'd had such a tough weekend," Nagel said. "This was definitely something that came along at a good time."
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