Duke not only shut out North Carolina, 3-0, Saturday, but also shut up the Carolina-clad crowd when the Blue Devils dominated the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
Surrounded by a sea of powder blue, any Duke cheers were drowned out by a raucous Carolina crowd. But even the Tar Heel fans' incessant chanting could not stop the Blue Devils from winning their first match in Carmichael Auditorium in nine years.
The sweep, which gives Duke a 1.5-0 lead in the Carlyle Cup, also marked head coach Jolene Nagel's first victory on Carolina turf at the helm of the Blue Devils.
"They've had some really strong teams at Carolina since I've been at Duke," Nagel said. "This is a difficult place to play.... So, you really have to have the focus that you need in order to be able play how we're capable. And I just think our team did a great job of that tonight, controlling the tempo of the match and being aggressive."
Duke (11-2, 4-0 in the ACC) never trailed in the match. North Carolina (3-11, 1-4) managed to knot the score once-tying the first game at one-but that was the closest the Tar Heels would come for the remaining two games.
"Anytime you can beat Carolina... that's huge," sophomore Sue Carls said. "This rivalry is unlike anything I've ever seen before and to come in here with the elements all against you. and to just pull out with a huge win in three is unbelievable."
After winning the first game 30-21, the Blue Devils allowed no room for a momentum change in the second game, going on a 10-3 run to end the game for a 30-16 win.
In the third game, Duke scored the first four points to take control early on. After extending the lead to 10 points, Carolina managed to come within five points before the Blue Devils responded with a 5-1 run to end the game, 30-21. Keeping her composure on the offensive and defensive ends, freshman Rachael Moss finished the night with a team- and career-high 15 kills and a team-high 16 digs in her first taste of the rivalry.
"I've heard about the rivalry, but I haven't really experienced it first hand," Moss said. "I look at it as a semi-friendly, over-town rivalry and I liked all the fans booing and doing all that stuff.. It motivated me."
The vocal crowd presence failed to break the focus of Moss' fellow Blue Devils. Junior Carrie DeMange recorded her eighth double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs, while tallying seven of Duke's nine team blocks. Carls slammed home 12 kills, and junior Ali Hausfeld finished with a match-high 43 assists.
The crowd-with a small contingent of mostly Duke pep band members to counter the Carolina mass-fed the Blue Devils' momentum and pumped up the team.
"What was really great was that we had a bunch of students that actually came here from Duke," Hausfeld said. "A lot of us just like the noise-whether they're yelling against us or for us-the noise just gets the energy going."
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