After a slow start in their final nonconference game of the season, the Blue Devils showed how far they have come in just 10 games.
Duke overcame losses in the first and fourth sets to knock off UNC-Wilmington (16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 15-7) Saturday afternoon at Cameron indoor Stadium led by sophomores Jessi Bartholomew and Leah Meyer. Bartholomew and Meyer combined for 31 kills and nine blocks, challenging the Seahawk blockers and ultimately giving their team the edge in the final set.
Following five-set losses to TCU and Long Beach State earlier in nonconference play, head coach Jolene Nagel's team finished strong Saturday a day after sweeping Campbell. The Blue Devils now have the momentum they sought heading into ACC play.
“This wasn’t our first fifth set,” Nagel said. “Today we learned from some of the things that happened in the past. [We] did a great job of having a good strong start, eliminating our errors, and just playing solid volleyball at the beginning of that set.”
In their second game in as many days, the Blue Devils (6-4) struggled to establish a rhythm in the first set, committing a series of errors to give UNC-Wilmington an early lead.
Duke committed 12 total errors and had a hitting percentage of -0.054 after one frame.
“I have no idea what happened in that first set,” Nagel said.
Duke dug itself a 14-11 hole in the second set, but the Blue Devils won four straight points sparked by Meyer and clinched a 25-23 set win on a kill by senior Jordan Tucker, who finished the contest with a dozen kills.
The Blue Devils continued the momentum from there, winning the third set 25-20 thanks to six kills from freshman Jamie Stivers—who had 12 for the game—and a .094 hitting percentage from the Seahawks (9-2).
Nagel credited the turnaround to cutting down on the team's errors, and Bartholomew—whose 16 kills were a career high—cited the team’s focus and positive attitude. The Newnan, Ga., native committed just two attack errors Saturday and led Duke with a .389 hitting percentage.
Although Duke dropped a tight fourth set after UNC-Wilmington won the frame's final six points, the Blue Devils jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fifth set. Freshman setter Cindy Marina had 61 assists to set up Duke's hitters for kills, and the Blue Devil back line stepped up when it had to, with defensive specialists Sasha Karelov, Nicole Elattrache and Chloe DiPasquale combining for 55 digs.
Duke continued cruising toward the finishing line, avoiding the miscues that set the team back earlier in nonconference play to finish the job on Meyer's 15th kill. The Blue Devils managed to stymie the Seahawk blockers, who entered the game leading the Colonial Athletic Association in blocks per set at 2.6 and got 14 combined from Sydney Brock and Nicole Lott Saturday.
Duke carried momentum from its Friday sweep against Campbell (25-18, 25-11, 25-18) into Saturday's game, with Stivers and Tucker combining for 26 kills against the Fighting Camels to lead the way.
Now relatively healthy—the Blue Devils got freshman Samantha Amos and junior Cadie Bates back this weekend—Duke will look to extend its winning streak when it opens ACC play Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Wake Forest. Amos had 12 kills and six blocks in the two games this weekend and Bates saw limited action.
"We’re still a developing team,” Nagel said. “We are trying to gain experience in the heat of competition and I’m really happy our team could get this one today.”
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