Nine sets into the season, Duke has yet to drop one.
The Blue Devils (3-0) opened up their 2012 campaign with the second annual Duke Volleyball Invitational at Cameron Indoor Stadium, winning all three of their matches without losing a set. After taking down William and Mary in Friday night’s season opener, the Blue Devils overpowered Fairfield Saturday morning and Wisconsin-Milwaukee later that evening.
“We saw three good opponents this weekend,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We were able to get some different styles as well. It was a real test for our young team, and I think we responded quite positively.”
After a closely contested opening set against the Tribe (1-2) in the first of the three matches, the Blue Devils found their stride and utilized their massive size advantage to dominate the second set and finish off William in Mary in straight sets, 26-24, 25-18, 25-23. Freshman Emily Sklar led the way with 14 kills. Sophomore Jeme Obeime registered 10 kills, and senior co-captain Christiana Gray registered five kills with a .571 hitting percentage.
A large, freshmen-filled crowd created an electric atmosphere for Duke’s first match of the year. “It was pretty exciting,” Sklar said. “I think the biggest thing for me was all the fans. In high school I was lucky if my parents came out. Everyone was just so pumped up and had their chests painted. I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
The Blue Devils took control early against the Stags (0-3) Saturday morning, jumping out to a 9-1 lead in the first set. Led by junior Chelsea Cook’s 11 kills and four blocks, Duke easily finished off Fairfield 25-15, 25-20, 25-20.
The Blue Devil defense led them to victory, holding the Stags to a meager .092 hitting percentage, compared to Duke’s .351. Junior libero Ali McCurdy posted 14 digs, while middle blockers Gray and Cook each recorded four blocks.
Saturday night’s matchup against the Panthers (2-1) provided Duke with its toughest opponent of the weekend. But the Blue Devils took advantage of tune-ups from their first two matches, and downed Wisconsin-Milwaukee 25-21, 25-11, 25-23.
Duke increased its defensive dominance, holding the Panthers to a .049 hitting percentage for the match. McCurdy recorded a team-high 15 digs, bringing her weekend total to 52. The Blue Devils tallied 12 blocks as a team, including four in the second set when they held Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a -.059 hitting percentage.
Sklar once again led the way for Duke offensively, posting 13 kills. Cook also registered nine kills with a .600 hitting percentage.
The Blue Devils’ successful opening weekend featured a slew of different lineups, all of which utilized some combination of three highly touted freshmen. Sklar paced the team with 33 kills in Duke’s three matches and also posted 28 digs. Middle blocker Elizabeth Campbell, a freshman, also impressed with 20 kills throughout the weekend, and freshman setter Christina Vucich led the Blue Devils with 49 assists.
“I think we had a good opening weekend,” Cook said. “We are just starting to get used to each other and work out all the kinks. We have a lot of new players on the court with 10 underclassmen. So I think it was a good opening weekend. It’s a good feeling to go 3-0 on your home court.”
Despite her team-leading .455 hitting percentage, Gray recorded only 18 kills due to limited touches. “That’s what we’re working on with all of our team,” Nagel said. “We were trying to make sure we controlled the ball well enough to be able to use our middles with that sort of thing, and that will come with time. We are young right now. I’m encouraged by what I saw this weekend, but we will certainly be working on that going into next week.”
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