The top three teams in the ACC-Duke, Clemson and North Carolina-all have the same 11-4 conference record.
This week, the Blue Devils have the opportunity to wipe out the Tar Heels and secure the No. 1 spot in the league.
Duke (20-7, 11-4 in the ACC) takes on the Tar Heels (17-9, 11-4) Thursday at 7 p.m. in Chapel Hill. Because of renovations, Thursday's game has been moved from Carmichael Auditorium to the Dean E. Smith Center, the well-known venue of North Carolina's men's basketball team.
"We need all the Duke fans to be there," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "That environment does not exactly welcome Duke with open arms-we are going to have to focus and get beyond that."
The Blue Devils' performance last week seems to warrant Nagel's call for increased support-they beat both first-place Clemson and second-place Georgia Tech.
Now, North Carolina, which is tied with Duke and Clemson for first place in the ACC, is arguably the Blue Devils' toughest competition for the rest of ACC play. Duke has had success against its rival in the past-the Blue Devils topped North Carolina 3-1 in Cameron Indoor Stadium Oct. 3-but the Tar Heels are on a six-game winning streak, and that momentum could easily turn the tide.
"This game is critical," Nagel said. "When we played UNC in October, we managed to win, but it was a very close match. Carolina is doing very, very well right now. We're going to have to execute and be aggressive in order to control the ball and be successful."
Despite the fact that the October match was close, the Blue Devils do not necessarily view the Tar Heels' recent success as a threat-it has simply served as an impetus to improve their own game.
Nagel said that the team's tireless work ethic in preparing for each opponent has impressed her, and added that the team has continued to improve late in the season, especially in its serving and overall attitude.
"They want to do well, and you can see that in their work ethic everyday," Nagel said. "They take a sincere interest in understanding the opponent and understanding each other."
"[Carolina's winning streak] has just been extra motivation for us in practice," senior Sue Carls said. "No matter what the stakes are, it is always exciting to play [at UNC], but I think we're more motivated now than we were at the beginning of the season."
While both Nagel and Carls stressed that the Blue Devils are taking the end of their regular season one game at a time, it's clear that the team's focus is on North Carolina, because that is, indeed, the next game. And the Tobacco Road rivalry comes when Duke can potentially separate itself from the rest of the ACC at the top of the standings.
"At this point, we can't get ahead of ourselves," Carls said. "Every game is really important, because the top teams are so close in the rankings. Everything is coming together so nicely at the end of the season, though-we're peaking at the perfect time."
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