They did not dominate.
In fact, they did not even look like a shell of the team that seized the Duke Classic over the weekend.
Nevertheless, the Blue Devils (7-2) walked away from Brodie Gymnasium with their sixth consecutive triumph with a 3-0 win against the Campbell Fighting Camels (2-7).
"We were not happy at all with the way we played," Blue Devil junior Ashley Harris said. "Volleyball is a game where you've got to play at a high level at all times. Tonight, we played down to our competition, instead of playing the way we should."
The Fighting Camels mounted a surprisingly potent attack at the beginning of all three games, only to watch their momentum slowly fade as Duke's superior talent eventually overwhelmed them.
In the first game, Duke stumbled out to a meager 7-6 lead. Sensing that they should not be having this much trouble against a fairly weak Campbell squad, the Blue Devils, led by ACC player of the week Jill Sonne, immediately elevated their play, ultimately winning the game 15-7.
Campbell, however, apparently re-energized between games, as it jumped to a quick 11-7 lead in the second game. Although Campbell did play a tighter brand of volleyball than expected, its lead was mainly attributable to Duke's sloppy play.
"When they were leading in the second game, I was never nervous, just mad," coach Jolene Nagel said. "We made too many errors, we couldn't block a thing, our jump serves were way too inconsistent. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to let our players off the hook."
Seeing her team trailing at a crucial juncture in the game, Harris, displaying some much-needed leadership, almost single-handedly hoisted her teammates to a 15-13 victory, with a battery of clutch blocks and crushing kills.
Emotionally beaten after almost stealing the second game, Campbell gave up 14 out of the last 15 points, including 11 unanswered, in the concluding game.
Though they played the Blue Devils tightly for most of the night, the Fighting Camels could not capitalize on any of the opportunities they created for themselves. Duke played on a different, much higher plane than its opponent when it needed to.
They made the kills that mattered. They dug the balls that they simply could not let hit the floor.
Duke's problem was maintaining that intensity for every point.
"We absolutely need to work on consistency," Nagel said. "We especially need consistency in our passing and in our jump-serves, no matter the situation."
The Blue Devils need to learn from their mistakes if they have their sights set squarely on their first ACC championship and NCAA tournament bid since 1994.
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