Duke volleyball eyes season sweeps of Wake Forest, Virginia in Week 4 of ACC play

<p>Senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker and the Blue Devils are tied for third in the ACC.&nbsp;</p>

Senior middle blocker Jordan Tucker and the Blue Devils are tied for third in the ACC. 

After winning five of their first six ACC games, the Blue Devils look like a much different team than the one that was searching for answers following a 4-4 start to the season.

The question now is whether an underclassmen-laden team can continue playing consistently.

Following back-to-back 3-1 home victories against Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech, Duke will take on Wake Forest Wednesday at 7 p.m. at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., before returning home to host Virginia Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils are currently tied for third in the ACC with a 5-1 record, and will look to keep their foot on the gas to boost their RPI, which is at No. 70 despite Duke's recent strong play.

Sixty-four teams make the NCAA tournament. 

“I’m excited we were able to get these two matches at home against two good teams to help our team understand that they can do it,” Blue Devil head coach Jolene Nagel said after Sunday's win against Virginia Tech. “We’ve continued to grow, and that’s awesome, and hopefully we're going to continue to make that happen.”

Duke (11-5, 5-1 in the ACC) has now won seven of its last eight, including three straight conference games, after handing the Panthers their first ACC loss and dispatching the Hokies. Cleaner play has fueled the Blue Devils' resurgence and will be key against two teams in the bottom half of the conference standings—Duke has committed fewer errors than its opponents in its last five wins. 

Two of those wins have come against the Demon Deacons and Cavaliers, and the Blue Devils will look to replicate their success this week. 

In Duke’s four set victory against Wake Forest (7-10, 3-3) at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Blue Devils committed six or fewer errors in each set led by middle blockers Jordan Tucker and Leah Meyer, finishing with a .237 team hitting percentage. On the other side of the net, Duke's defense stymied the Demon Deacons, whose .154 hitting percentage was well below their season average of .201.

Led by Caroline Rassenfoss, who had 20 kills against the Blue Devils and averages more than four per set, though, Wake Forest has won three of its last five ACC games, including a 3-1 victory against Pittsburgh. Junior defensive specialist Caroline Wolf has also helped the Demon Deacons build some momentum in conference play, and tallied 20 digs in the win against the Panthers Sunday.

“We’re going to try to go out next week, we’re going to be away, but still try and bring the fire we brought here in Cameron,” Duke freshman setter Cindy Marina said after Sunday's game. “We’re just going to study them a lot, watch the film, execute, know their game [and] play our game.”

Marina and company have also increased their dig production in recent weeks to keep more balls alive. It has become more common for several Blue Devils to notch double-digit digs and allow Marina to rack up assists to Tucker, Meyer and freshman outside hitter Jamie Stivers, the trio that spearheads Duke's offense.

The Blue Devils know they will need to keep a high level of activity in their rematch with Virginia (4-14, 1-5). The Cavaliers took Duke to five sets in the previous matchup, but collapsed in the fifth set, posting a hitting percentage of -.235 in the home loss.

Virginia is looking for back-to-back wins for the first time all year to jumpstart its campaign and is coming off a 3-0 victory against Clemson. Before that win, the Cavaliers had suffered three straight sweeps and an 12-match losing streak. 

Senior outside hitters Jasmine Burton and Haley Kole got Virginia back on track against Clemson, tallying 10 kills apiece with hitting percentages of better than .450. Kole notched 25 kills when the Cavaliers pushed the Blue Devils the distance Sept. 24. 

The matchup against Virginia will mark the beginning of a three-game homestand for the Blue Devils, who will continue a favorable stretch of games against Clemson and Georgia Tech next week.

“We've got to continue to work together,” Nagel said. “we’ve continued to grow, and that’s awesome and hopefully we’re going to continue to make that happen. Hopefully that gives us some momentum moving forward.”


Michael Model

Digital Strategy Director for Vol. 115, Michael was previously Sports Editor for Vol. 114 and Assistant Blue Zone Editor for Vol. 113.  Michael is a senior majoring in Statistical Science and is interested in data analytics and using data to make insights.

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