After a disappointing series of losses last weekend and a surprisingly tough win over North Carolina A&T, the volleyball team showed a renewed sense of cohesiveness Friday and Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, sweeping Rutgers 3-0 (30-18, 30-22, 30-16), Georgetown 3-0 (30-24, 30-13, 30-20) and Campbell 3-0 (30-10, 30-19, 30-14).
The Blue Devils' improved their record to 12-3 before beginning ACC competition this week.
Duke dominated in the three games on both offense and defense, with three players in double figures for kills and a 35-13 blocking advantage for the weekend. Head coach Jolene Nagel said the team's impressive performance was the result of a great deal of restructuring coupled with focused practices.
"We went through a week where we really had to do a little bit of soul-searching and evaluation, and also really figure out where we could become a better team," Nagel said. "We did that, and we were able to come out and play well."
Senior co-captain and middle blocker Rachel Vander Griend added that the wins were an important booster for the Blue Devils.
"We felt like six individuals instead of one unit," said Vander Griend, who had seven kills and a .250 hitting average against Rutgers. "We've really come together as a team. It's got our confidence back."
In Duke's final game of the weekend against Campbell, the Blue Devil defense was especially impressive. The Camels, who were led by senior Kara Lewis with 11 kills, had trouble mounting much offense against a Duke team that recorded 16 service aces and 11 total blocks during the three games.
"Our defense was awesome, especially the first night, and that got us ready to play [for the weekend]," said freshman Tiffany Perry, who started for the first time against the Camels.
Balancing a stifling defense with dominant offense reassured many players that the Duke team that won its first eight games on the season had returned. But despite the team's performance, Vander Griend said there is still room for improvement.
"We didn't capitalize as much as we could have," she said. "We should have had not just more kills, but amazing kills."
Nagel agreed, and added that the team is beginning to learn the mechanics of how to work together.
"I think that all the matches we've had up to this point, it's given us a lot of information about our team," Nagel said. "It's given us information about different combinations of personnel out there so we have a better idea in different situations of how we're going to react and maybe how we can put our strengths forward."
That understanding will be important as the Blue Devils prepare for their first conference game of the year, at home Tuesday against Wake Forest.
"The ACC is always tough," Vander Griend said. "To come in with the level of confidence and unity we have, we'll be able to come in and play at the level we need to."
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