Opening the season with a tournament sweep at the Duke Invitational and a win against Campbell Tuesday, the Blue Devils will head north with hopes of taking down Big Ten opponents this weekend.
No. 19 Duke will leave Cameron Indoor Stadium to kick off a slate of five road games with matches Friday at 7 p.m. at Michigan and Saturday at 5 p.m. at No. 14 Michigan State.
Team chemistry will be a key focus for the Blue Devils for the next two weeks. Communication and support on the court will help the squad play each point and prevent the other side of the net from going on a scoring run as they have already seen earlier this season.
“We are still working on… getting to know each other and what everybody needs out there,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We are still learning those things about each other and I can definitely see that out there on the court. I’m learning about them as well. It’s just going to take some time.”
Coming off of a night of career-highs against the Fighting Camels earlier this week, outside hitters Emily Sklar and Jeme Obeime and libero Sasha Karelov will look to provide strong leadership on the court and help the team rally back after tough points.
To prevent their opponents’ good plays from shifting the game’s momentum this weekend, Karelov must continue to hold the back line together. The sophomore—who amassed 35 digs in four sets Tuesday—is making strides toward filling the shoes of ACC all-time digs leader Ali McCurdy and establishing herself as a key presence for Duke (4-0).
Obeime also collected a career-high 22 digs against Campbell and sealed the match for the Blue Devils with her eighth kill.
In the same match, Sklar recorded 22 kills and showed her willingness to takes risks with her shots. Going after points off of less-than-ideal sets could help Duke turn the game’s momentum in its favor and build the team’s confidence this weekend.
In the season’s first away game in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Blue Devils will take on Michigan (2-1) and its star libero Tiffany Morales. The Wolverines sit just outside the top 25 in the most recent AVCA coaches poll, receiving five votes.
Ready to shut down Duke’s offense, Morales will enter the match Friday coming off of 21 digs against Arkansas. Although the Wolverines fell to the Razorbacks 3-2, Morales was still named the Arkansas Invitational's Most Outstanding Libero.
Leading Michigan on offense will be setter Lexi Dannemiller—an AVCA All-America honorable mention last season—and middle blocker Abby Cole, who has notched 46 kills in three games.
The competition will only get harder from there, as Duke faces the task of taking down Michigan State (4-0) a day later in East Lansing, Mich.
The Blue Devils have not seen the Spartans since 1997, when Michigan State ran away with a 14-point lead in the fourth set to tie the match then defeat Duke 3-2 at home.
Sweeping their first three opponents in the Alabama-Birmingham/Samford Tournament and dropping Samford 3-1 to claim the title, Michigan State received standout performances from team leaders libero Kori Moster and Allyssah Fitterer.
Moster—the two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and All-America selection—leads the squad with an average of 3.92 digs per set, with a total of 51 digs in four games.
Closing out the win against the Bulldogs, Fitterer was named tournament MVP. The middle blocker recorded 16 kills and two blocks, hitting .462 on the night. Fitterer will look to lead Michigan State’s offensive attack again Saturday.
The crowded stadiums of both opponents will be an added challenge for the Blue Devils. The Spartan’s Jenison Field House holds more than 5,000 at maximum capacity, and the team ranks 11th in the nation for fan attendance.
With a capacity of 1,800, Michigan’s Cliff Keen Arena allows spectators to be nearly on the court with the players, an arrangement the fans use to their advantage.
“I compare [the fans] to the Cameron Crazies,” Sklar said. “They had looked up our bios and knew all of our stuff. We will have to be really focused when we play against them because it’s a tough crowd.”
Duke last travelled to Michigan in 2012, when the Blue Devils failed to upset the then-No. 22 Wolverines in the fifth set.
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