It was just icing on the cake for the Blue Devils.
After finishing the 2010 season with an ACC Championship, a run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Volleyball Championship and multiple players named to the All-ACC team, Duke ended its year with a No. 18 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
The Blue Devils (27-7), who were seeded 12th in the NCAA Tournament, fell short in the Regional Final in University Park to Penn State--the eventual champions--3-1 after defeating High Point 3-0 and Ohio 3-2. Duke was the only team in the whole tournament to win a set against the Nittany Lions who won their fourth consecutive NCAA title.
The team's ranking marks the first time since 2007--when it was voted No. 22--that Duke earned a spot in the poll. The Blue Devils received votes as high as No. 13, and their final position gives Duke its first ranking this season.
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