Yankees-Sox: we all know the outcome (may the curse continue). But this weekend a real competition heats up in ACC volleyball. After a long and mostly on-the-road season so far, Duke returns home this weekend for tough conference play in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils (5-11, 1-3 in the ACC) host another double-header Friday and Saturday night against Clemson (12-7, 2-2) and No. 5 Georgia Tech (16-0, 4-0) respectively.
"We're excited about the weekend," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "It's the first time in four weekends that w're home. It's great to play in Cameron again."
Duke is coming off of their first conference win against Florida last Friday which will hopefully propel them through the tough matchups this weekend.
The Tigers have been having an on-off season with a win last weekend against Virginia and a loss to Maryland. Clemson boasts both offensively and defensively dominant individual players with Leslie Finn, ranked second in the ACC, totalling 292 kills. On the defensive end, Lindsey Abbott is a consistent defensive player to the dismay of many power outside hitters.
"Clemson has a different look this year than they did last year," Nagel said. "But they still have their strong hitters and we'll have to play tough defense against them."
Win or lose, the Blue Devils will not be given an opportunity to loosen up as they face fifth-ranked Georgia Tech Saturday at 7pm. The Yellow Jackets have the potential to be Duke's most challenging opponents in conference play this season. The team is undefeated and put the best of the best on the front line. Georgia Tech leads the nation in kills, assists, and hitting percentage with Lynnette Moster leading the team with 4.4 kills per game and Kele Eveland averaging 14.77 assists per game, an ACC-best and second in the nation. However, before claiming ultimate ACC victory last season, the Yellow Jackets first suffered a loss in Cameron. The Blue Devils look to continue that tradition this weekend despite the pressures a topped ranked ACC poses.
"Georgia Tech has a fast tempoed team," a concerned Nagel stated. "The entire starting team returned this season so they know each other really well on the court and their communication is strong."
In the face of danger, Duke has its own threats on the court that give them an edge. Tassay Rufai and Krista Dill still dominate the Blue Devils' offense. The two top attackers for Duke recorded mirror image tallies last weekend, each scoring 11 kills and four blocks against the Seminoles and have proven to be strong throughout the season. Fridays win will undoubtably only add fuel to the duo's fire. Dill has also dominated the front-line defense after hitting the 100 mark for blocks last weekend. Stephanie Istvan also remains a frustration for opponents tallying a team-high of 191 digs this season, 12 last weekend against Florida State, with an average of 3.24 digs per game.
"[The win against Florida] gives us confidence going into the next few matches," Nagel said. "We have a lot of older players on our team who know what playing in the ACC is about. Each of the matches are so tough we can't look beyond that first point. There are a lot of difficult games and you have to come to play."
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