At any point during the season but especially towards the beginning, the opportunity to perform in the face of adversity can build or break a team. This weekend, the Blue Devils confronted a significant challenge, as they played three west coast squads in three days.
The No. 18 Blue Devils (4-2) faced Pacific (3-1) on Thursday at the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif. The Blue Devils took the match 3-1 behind strong attacking.
“It was a nice atmosphere to get started in,” head coach Jolene Nagel said about the first time her squad has taken the court outside of Durham this season.
Overcoming a somewhat sloppy showing on defense during the beginning of the contest, Duke was able to secure a tight victory with some outstanding offense. Led by freshmen Jeme Obeime’s eight kills in the final two games and anchored by the consistently stellar play of seniors Sophia Dunworth and Kayla Kirk, who totaled 13 kills during the final two sets, the Blue Devils were able to apply more offensive pressure than the Tigers could handle.
The team then traveled to Palo Alto to face St. Mary’s (3-3) for its first match in the Stanford Invitational on Friday night, and second contest of the trip. The teams traded games before a fifth and deciding set. Dunworth, a Pleasanton native, passed 1,000 career kills with 15 on the night.
The Blue Devils looked like they had seized the momentum after winning a back-and-forth fourth game 27-25. With the teams knotted up at two games a piece, though, the Gaels won the fifth game decisively, 15-4. The defense of Gabby Jolly and Natalie Loos, who combined for twelve blocks on the night, and three during the crucial last game, dashed Duke’s hopes of pulling off the comeback victory.
“We really felt like we should have had that match,” Nagel said. “We needed to control the ball a little bit better in order to do the things we wanted to do offensively. We didn’t do that well enough.”
After the tough loss against St. Mary’s, the Blue Devils then had to face No. 6 Stanford (4-0) on Saturday night for their final match of the road trip. The first game was taken by the Cardinal 25-20, but Duke responded impressively taking the second match 25-19. Led by junior All-American Kellie Catanach, Duke picked up 19 kills in that game and looked like it could give Stanford a tough match.
“[The team] saw the level that they could play, during game two against Stanford,” Nagel said. “It was very exciting for them and very motivating.”
Stanford responded with stifling defense throughout the rest of the contest. With 106 digs, the Cardinal effectively shut down the Blue Devil offense. Despite the standout performance of sophomore and All-Tournament selection Ali McCurdy, who led the game with 31 digs, Duke was not able to find an answer for the tournament MVP, Stanford’s outside hitter Rachel Williams.
Williams had 24 kills and 22 digs, leading her team in both categories. Duke showed flashes of brilliance, but the Cardinal was just a better team over the course of the game.
“I think what we learned about ourselves, in regards to maybe where we are right now and some of the things we’re capable of doing…is priceless.” Coach Nagel said.
With another ranked opponent in No. 20 San Diego (6-0) making the cross country trip on Thursday to play at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke hopes to respond to this adversity with better and more consistent play.
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