After cracking the top 15 in the Coaches Poll for the first time in six years, the Blue Devils will look to maintain their lead in the ACC with back-to-back road games this weekend.
No. 15 Duke will play at Maryland on Friday and at Pittsburgh on Sunday, beginning the final, eight-match stretch of conference play with a one-match lead over No. 18 Florida State.
“We have a lot left to do,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “It’s going to be really important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves and that we continue to take one match at a time and focus on the task at hand."
The Terrapins (12-12, 4-8 in the ACC) and Panthers (12-13, 4-8) have both struggled in ACC play. Maryland has won just two of its last nine conference matches and Pittsburgh is winless in its last five ACC games under first year head coach Dan Fisher. Nonetheless, the Blue Devils (20-3, 11-1) know that conference road wins this weekend will not come easily.
"They’re both very good opponents and strong teams," Nagel said. "We’re always challenged when we go up to Maryland. They play us tough. We haven’t played Pittsburgh for many years, and they’ve done very well against some solid teams. I think we have our work cut out for us.”
Senior libero and defensive specialist Ali McCurdy became the all-time leader in digs in the conference in Duke’s last contest, a four-set win against Boston College. Led by McCurdy, the Blue Devils lead the ACC in digs per set with 16.05.
Duke also owns gaudy offensive statistics, leading the conference in kills with 15.01 and placing fifth in the nation in assists per set and 13.90, respectively. With sophomore outside hitter Emily Sklar, junior outside hitter Jeme Obeime and sophomore middle blocker Elizabeth Campbell all capable of registering double digit kills in any given contest, Duke has one of the most balanced attacks in the nation.
“Having a solid defense has really allowed us to come through on offense,” Nagel said. “I think [our balance] is really important and has helped us a lot. We hope we can continue controlling the ball because that’s what allows our offense to be able to be successful.”
Despite boasting such impressive statistics and cracking the top 15 in the coaches poll, Duke is still focused on its ultimate goal—playing well entering the NCAA Tournament.
“We haven’t even talked about [the rankings] as a team,” Nagel said. “I think it’s nice, but when it comes time for the NCAA Tournament, the poll is not going to have an impact on what happens for seeding. We can’t control a lot of what happens with the poll. We certainly can control going out there and playing our best each night.”
Although the Blue Devils’ conference title hopes will likely be decided after the final three games of the season in which they will face Florida State, No. 19 North Carolina and North Carolina State, the three teams nearest to Duke in the standings, it will be crucial for the Blue Devils to maintain focus and the form that has allowed them to win 16 of their last 17 games.
“A lot of the teams are going to go all out against us,” Nagel said. “They have nothing to lose. It’s really important that we play with that same kind of abandon. That’s the way we’re going to be able to go after it.”
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