The Blue Devils have fallen off of their perfect ACC pace recently, going 1-1 the last two weekends to fall into a tie for second place in the conference standings. Duke hopes to regain its form on the road Friday and Saturday, though, as it faces Clemson Friday at 7 p.m. and Georgia Tech at the same time Saturday.
In Duke’s seven conference wins thus far, the Blue Devils have not even been challenged—every win has been of the 3-0 or 3-1 variety. But in losses to then-No. 19 Florida State and unranked North Carolina, Duke has stumbled.
Still, the Blue Devils (17-4, 7-2 in the ACC) have shown they can take care of the conference’s lesser squads, and Clemson is one of the ACC’s middling teams. The Tigers (15-6, 5-4) boast the best group of blockers in conference play, totalling 220 blocks in just nine contests. Behind Alexa Rand and Sandra Adeleye, Clemson has limited opponents to a .159 hitting percentage.
Georgia Tech has been extremely competitive the season, and the Yellow Jackets are tied with Duke for second in the conference at the moment. Georgia Tech (13-6, 7-2) relies on a heavy-hitting offense, and setter Mary Ashley Tippins pulls the strings for the unit. Tippins leads the ACC in digs per game, and has plenty of outside hitters to choose from.
Duke will rely on blockers Amanda Robertson and Becci Burling to neutralize the Yellow Jacket attack, and on outside hitter Rachael Moss to help the Blue Devils dictate the tempo this weekend.
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