Early in the third game of Saturday's contest with Boston College, the Eagles' Abigail Hasebroock spiked a ball hard toward Duke's Becci Burling and Jenny Shull. As the ball hit the floor and the two teammates collided in a pile of arms and legs, the entire team broke into laughter.
The moment was symbolic of the Blue Devils' stress-free mindset against Boston College (7-6 overall, 1-2 in the ACC) as they went on to win the game 30-25 and sweep the Eagles 3-0.
Duke (8-3, 3-0) had every reason to smile this weekend, as it successfully completed a two-game homestand with wins over Boston College and Maryland (8-4, 0-3). On Friday, the Blue Devils defeated the Terrapins 3-1 in a hard-fought match.
The Blue Devils have now won 36 consecutive matches in Cameron Indoor Stadium dating back to the 2004 season.
Adding to the celebration was senior Ali Hausfeld, who recorded the 5,000th assist of her career during the final game against Boston College. After accumulating 115 assists during the weekend, the setter only needs 62 more to overtake Duke's all-time assists record from Kristen Campbell.
"It's a tremendous honor," Hausfeld said. "I love setting here because I've never felt like we only had one hitter I can set to all the time. It's made it easy for me because I have so many options and can just do my own thing and know one of our hitters is going to get the kill."
Although the Blue Devils were successful overall, they dropped their first game in conference play to Maryland Friday, losing the third game 35-33. Duke was unable to overcome the Terrapins' blocking ability in that particular game, with Maryland having a 7-1 advantage on blocks.
"We got a little bit tight out there and our passing wasn't as fluid," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "They were serving very tough and we weren't adjusting or moving our feet as well. They were very aggressive blocking-wise, and we couldn't respond."
Facing their first challenge in ACC play, the Blue Devils were led by senior Carrie DeMange. DeMange stepped up for Duke in the fourth game, earning eight kills, including four straight points that pushed the momentum squarely onto the Blue Devils' side.
Using the clash with the Terrapins as a wake-up call, Duke played with renewed focus against the Eagles the following night, taking control of the game from the opening serve. Duke outblocked Boston College 10-3, a vast improvement compared to the disadvantage against Maryland.
Even when Duke was down in a game, the team never gave in, staying relaxed and confident throughout the three games with the Eagles.
"We really wanted to make a statement with this game," Hausfeld said. "We wanted to show that we're on top in the ACC. We lost a game last night and we shouldn't have done that. It wasn't our game and it wasn't us."
The Blue Devils did get consistent play from their seniors, with DeMange accumulating 44 kills over the weekend. On the defensive side, libero Jenny Shull had 34 digs, and more impressively, did not commit a single serve reception error over the two matches.
The Blue Devils may have found a new offensive presence with the insertion of freshman Burling into the starting lineup. Burling recorded 18 combined kills in the two ACC matchups.
After the busy weekend, Duke has five days to recuperate before traveling to Florida to face Florida State and Miami. Even though the Blue Devils are undefeated so far in conference play, the team knows every conference opponent will be gunning for it.
"Every team brings out all the stops when Duke comes to town," Hausfeld said. "Every ACC win is really tough, but they're fired up to play us."
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