Volleyball wants first ACC win

For the first time since early September, Duke's volleyball team will return home to Cameron Indoor Stadium with hopes of doing something it has not done since leaving--win. Tonight at 7:00 p.m. the Blue Devils (4-10, 0-2 in the ACC) will take on a talented Wake Forest team (11-3, 1-1) that is off to its best start in five years.

Coming off back-to-back losses in its first two ACC matches of the year, Duke is looking to get back on track.

"I have a lot of confidence in our team that we are going to turn it around," senior Katie Gilman said. "We are going to start with this game and go from there."

Duke lost to Maryland on Friday night 3-0 in a match where the Blue Devils could not keep pace with the Terrapins after falling behind early in the first game. Then on Saturday against Virginia, Duke lost a close match 3-2. The Blue Devils won the first and third games but made errors at crucial points during the fifth game, costing them a chance at the victory.

While Duke was struggling, Wake Forest handed a strong Virginia team its first loss of the year, ending the Caveliers 16-game winning streak. Also over the weekend, the Demon Deacons were barely beaten by Maryland in a match that went to a fifth game.

The experienced Blue Devil team has run into the Wake Forest squad before and knows its strengths.

"We've seen some of the girls that they have," Gilman said. "We know that they are a tough team."

Led by sophomore Valerie Rydberg, one of the league leaders in kills and a recipient of ACC Player of the Week honors earlier this month, the Demon Deacons will likely present difficulty for Duke defensively. "The ACC is such a challenging conference from top to bottom," Krista Dill said. "Every night you're going to be up for a fight." But with conference play just beginning, Duke is not out of the hunt. "I see some very good things out of this team, so I am not discouraged," Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said.

At practice, the Blue Devils have been focusing on improving their communication and maintaining their intensity.

"We want to work to compete every point and be aggressive the whole match through," Dill said.

When asked about the difference finally playing at home would make, everyone seemed to be in agreement.

"There is something about having that home court advantage and having your fans behind you," Krista Dill said. "But I don't think that is going to be the deciding factor of whether we win or lose."

Instead, the Blue Devils will look to concentrate on improving on their hitting percentage, which ranks among the worst in the ACC. Maintaining focus and not making errors in critical parts of the contest will be essential if Duke wants to end its seven-match losing streak.

"Once we figure everything out we should be fine," said senior Tassy Rufai in regards to improving team communication. "Hopefully we can do that sooner rather than later."