Any questions as to whether Duke can contend for the ACC championship may have been answered in the opening game Friday night, as the Blue Devils blitzed Wake Forest 15-2 on their way to a 3-0 demolishing of one of the conference's better teams.
Handing the Demon Deacons their first ACC loss and just their second overall, Duke (12-4, 2-1 in the ACC) exhibited a balanced effort to stay perfect at Cameron Indoor Stadium in what outside hitter Bryn Gallagher called "a huge match"
The Blue Devils came out aggressively, blocking and passing effectively to surprise a Wake Forest team that had swept both games between the two last season.
"I hate to say we were surprised, I knew we had it in us," Gallagher, a junior, said. "We had a great crowd tonight."
After playing unevenly at times in last Tuesday's win over lowly North Carolina A&T, the Blue Devils put together an impressively sound all-around performance Friday.
"Pamela [Gottfred] did a great job setting, Ashley [Harris] kept us in it... and we played good defense," coach Jolene Nagel said. "It really was an entire team effort out there."
Nagel noted that against an opponent as tough as Wake Forest, her team really had but one choice. If the Blue Devils were to win Friday, they had to play all-out, all the time.
"We couldn't afford to do anything but that," Nagel said.
Although Duke trailed early in the second game, it exploded with a series of kills and excellent defense that reclaimed the lead at 10-9.
After trading sideouts at 12-9, junior outside hitter Harris ignited the enthusiastic crowd of about 350 with a blistering spike just inside the right line. A block by junior Sarah Stephens made it 13-9, and Wake Forest never seemed to recover.
Gallagher, who led the team with 14 digs, came up with strong plays on several big points in a performance highlighted by a powerful spike that finished off the second game at 15-9. The junior attributed her good play to her mental approach.
"I am trying to learn my role as a player on the team, especially defensively," Gallagher said.
Wake Forest, unable to block Duke's front line effectively, also made numerous unforced errors that obliterated the few swings of momentum that its team had.
Harris and sophomore Jill Sonne led on offense for the Blue Devils, whose attacks always seemed to confuse the Demon Deacons. Wake managed an attack percentage of just .103.
In the third game, after Duke jumped to a 10-4 lead, the Demon Deacons rallied to close the advantage to 14-12. In a sequence typifying the match, Wake Forest hit consecutive service errors, failing to take advantage of multiple chances to get back into the match.
Afterward, a smiling coach Nagel raved about her team's win.
"We needed it," she said. "[Our goal] is to compete for the ACC championship. I am pleased with how the team listened and played with their heads up."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.