Duke volleyball 2022 season preview

Senior Gracie Johnson will serve as a team captain alongside Lizzie Fleming in 2022.
Senior Gracie Johnson will serve as a team captain alongside Lizzie Fleming in 2022.

Overview

For those who followed Duke’s squad last year, be prepared to see plenty of unfamiliar faces on the court as the season takes off. Duke has added seven freshmen and two graduate transfers to its roster, meaning that much of the preseason has been about “trying to do a lot of work together and working on getting to know each other,” head coach Jolene Nagel told The Chronicle. The trajectory of the season will depend on how well the Blue Devils can work as a cohesive team and establish their dynamic early on in the season.

But despite the wealth of new freshmen on the team, Duke’s performance in its exhibition match Saturday against Davidson was characterized by a strong sense of maturity. Duke faltered from behind the service line throughout the game: “They didn’t let it fall into their all-around performance,” Nagel said. “And I thought that was growth for us as a team.” Although the Blue Devils often fell apart toward the end of close sets last season, defeating the Wildcats 25-23 in three of Saturday’s sets demonstrates that perhaps the leadership on this year’s squad has helped Duke learn to settle its play and navigate through these situations more smoothly.

The Blue Devils are not short on talent this year, and “the gym has been very competitive” so far as preseason practices continue, according to Nagel. Plenty of the new freshmen hail from high schools that have frequently seen state championships and club teams that are always contenders on the national circuit; returning players, too, have gained experience and improved as the team has continued to work since last season, Nagel said. In all, Duke has a deep and versatile roster this year, so one can expect plenty of players to see the court each game. Some roster aspects to watch out for are how graduate transfer Devon Chang and senior Cami Nazor share the court as the team’s dominant setters and how Duke will keep its offensive presence strong from the outside with the departure of former star outside hitter Ade Owokoniran. 

The ACC has proven to be a strong conference in NCAA volleyball—Louisville and Pittsburgh both earned Final Four bids in 2021—and Duke has the potential to improve on its 7-11 record from last year if it can better capitalize on sets against competitive teams, like Miami and Georgia Tech. It’s a matter of how long it takes the squad to work together and find that potential. -Leah Boyd

New player to watch: Devon Chang

Chang joined the Duke volleyball team after three years as a setter for UCLA. The graduate student is very talented at creating opportunities for her teammates to score. At UCLA in the spring of 2021, she averaged 6.08 assists per set with a season-high of 35 assists. During her first season with the Bruins, she posted even better numbers with 8.75 assists per game with a career-high 52 assists against San Diego. Chang’s volleyball game is well-rounded, and she is able to complement her playmaking with solid defense as well.

Unfortunately, Chang was not able to continue this solid play last year because of a season-ending injury, making this a comeback year for her at Duke. She “seems to be doing very well in that recovery, so that’s exciting," according to Nagel. Chang made her debut in her new Blue Devil uniform in Saturday's exhibition, in which she recorded 26 assists and three blocks in two sets. -Suresh Kannoth

Returning players to watch: Gracie Johnson, Rylie Kadel

Senior Gracie Johnson will lead the Blue Devils as a co-captain this year alongside fellow senior Lizzie Fleming. She is coming off of a junior season in which she finished second on the team with 2.37 kills per set and posted a career-high 23 kills against North Carolina. Johnson also led the conference with 46 service aces. Coach Nagel expects the Virginia Beach, Va., native and Fleming to lead the team “in the weight room and then on the court” with their experience and work ethic.

On the other hand, sophomore Rylie Kadel is back for her second season with the Blue Devils as a middle blocker after averaging 1.60 kills per set with a total of 53 kills during her rookie season. It will be interesting to see where she takes her game to the next step this fall after she tied Johnson for most kills Saturday with 11. -Kannoth

Most anticipated matchups: Oct. 23 vs. North Carolina, Nov. 23 @ North Carolina

Of course, the major rivalry between Duke and North Carolina takes the cake here. Last year, Duke lost both its matchups against North Carolina 2-0 and 3-2, respectively. Duke has been below its rival in the ACC standings in the past three years, but it should be exciting to see whether Duke can flip the script and get wins against the Tar Heels this year. 

This year's ACC is “very competitive and it continues to be this year as well and we just got to take care of business one match at a time,” in Nagel's own words. The hype behind Duke and North Carolina will naturally take center stage, but these should be competitive matchups in their own right. -Kannoth

Best-case scenario

Last season, Duke finished 16-13 and 7-11 in the ACC. This season, the Blue Devils have the potential to surpass that record with new faces and a fresh start. With a little luck, they could go for Nagel’s 15th season with more than 20 wins overall and/or finish in the top half of the ACC standings. -Kannoth

Worst-case scenario

The Blue Devils struggle to generate a strong team dynamic early on and fall victim to the same issues that plagued them last season, being unable to finish strong when it’s tight at the end and getting shaky when part of their game starts to crumble a bit. If these issues aren’t addressed, Duke might find itself in the bottom half of the ACC again and short of an NCAA tournament bid. 

There’s no question that this team has the talent, but Nagel must work early on to find a consistent lineup that works for this squad where the talent meshes together best. If not, the morale on this team could be low and hinder its growth process. -Boyd

Predictions

Boyd: 20-9 (11-7 in ACC), fifth in ACC

Kannoth: 19-10 (9-9 in ACC), seventh in ACC


Leah Boyd profile
Leah Boyd

Leah Boyd is a Pratt senior and a social chair of The Chronicle's 118th volume. She was previously editor-in-chief for Volume 117.

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