awhom111
08-18-2009, 01:30 AM
Looking Back:
Duke Volleyball had another solid season as they reached the second round of the NCAA tournament again. The stupid ACC schedule cheated Duke out of a legitimate opportunity to win the ACC outright (we were skipped on the opportunity to beat the stuffing out of Maryland and Boston College twice (unlike Carolina, who got a much more favorable pod to skip)), but at least we get to only play Clemson and Georgia Tech once this season. This team has settled into a nice pattern of being a second round caliber team every year, but is still looking to take one big step forward. Three very good players graduated from last year’s team. In Jourdan Norman, the team loses the best middle blocker from a defensive perspective that the program has ever seen. Her record-setting block totals will be missed as well as her reliable attacking skills. The opposite is one of the most important offensive players in Coach Jolene Nagel’s system, and losing Sue Carls means losing a high-percentage hitter on that right side. Carls also brought incredible energy and emotional leadership to the court. Aana Wherry was a versatile member of the defense in covering in any of the back row positions. Her productive serve will also be missed. All three seniors that graduated played regularly.
Key Returnees and Additions:
Last season, Duke found its next four-year setter in the form of Kelly Catanach. She has already displayed good technical ability and aggressive defense and will probably develop further this year in getting the ball to the right spot on offense as well as figuring out when she needs to let the rest of her defense get the first ball. She is capably backed up by veterans Alex Sall and Christina Falcone. Claire Smalzer was an effective libero in her first year in the position. It is difficult to only play in the back row and to play back there for almost every play of the game is a real challenge that she stepped up to quite admirably. Amanda Robertson played defense for the opposite last season and may get the chance to add to it by playing all around on that right side. Kayla Kirk has also gotten the chance to play in the front row on that side. Rachael Moss is the key hitter on the outside both on the attack and with her powerful curving serve. She is probably the most dangerous hitter out of the back row as well. The other outside hitter position was technically held by Sophia Dunworth, who was able to display her positional versatility. While she did play on the outside, she also drifted inside and did well in blocking duties. She played on the inside for some rotations in order to free up the most deadly attacker on the team in Becci Burling. Burling’s attacking ability in the middle is only surpassed by her abilities to hit from the outside. She also brings solid blocking abilities to the front line and will be expected to provide some vocal leadership on the court. Off the bench, Brittany Staffeil has mostly been used in defensive situations, but she is also a skilled, accurate hitter on the outside while Juliana Traut brings more power to the left side. The freshmen are not listed on the roster currently, but they were listed in news items. Christiana Gray looks to play in the vacant middle blocker position, while two defensive players and one outside hitter were also brought in for the season.
Outlook:
This team will need to address a couple of holes to ensure that it reaches the same level as it has in the past few years. While the team will definitely have a strong attacking threat, making sure that the blocking in the middle is solid will also be critical. Losing an opposite is a very important matter for Duke as it is such a critical part of the attack due to the high percentage of the attacks that the team has historically enjoyed from the right side. Fortunately, it looks like there are some experienced options for that spot. Expect this team to be an ACC contender again this season. While the rest of the teams in the ACC are also getting stronger, Duke has been in a very strong position to recruit nationally and bring in some great players. As mentioned earlier, the schedule does slightly favor the team in the sense that Duke does get to play the Clemson-Georgia Tech pod only once, but the team does have 11 away games to 9 home games. Is this the year that the program takes one giant step forward in the NCAA tournament? It will be tough as the second round almost always contains a perennial volleyball power, but this team will break that barrier eventually.
Duke Volleyball had another solid season as they reached the second round of the NCAA tournament again. The stupid ACC schedule cheated Duke out of a legitimate opportunity to win the ACC outright (we were skipped on the opportunity to beat the stuffing out of Maryland and Boston College twice (unlike Carolina, who got a much more favorable pod to skip)), but at least we get to only play Clemson and Georgia Tech once this season. This team has settled into a nice pattern of being a second round caliber team every year, but is still looking to take one big step forward. Three very good players graduated from last year’s team. In Jourdan Norman, the team loses the best middle blocker from a defensive perspective that the program has ever seen. Her record-setting block totals will be missed as well as her reliable attacking skills. The opposite is one of the most important offensive players in Coach Jolene Nagel’s system, and losing Sue Carls means losing a high-percentage hitter on that right side. Carls also brought incredible energy and emotional leadership to the court. Aana Wherry was a versatile member of the defense in covering in any of the back row positions. Her productive serve will also be missed. All three seniors that graduated played regularly.
Key Returnees and Additions:
Last season, Duke found its next four-year setter in the form of Kelly Catanach. She has already displayed good technical ability and aggressive defense and will probably develop further this year in getting the ball to the right spot on offense as well as figuring out when she needs to let the rest of her defense get the first ball. She is capably backed up by veterans Alex Sall and Christina Falcone. Claire Smalzer was an effective libero in her first year in the position. It is difficult to only play in the back row and to play back there for almost every play of the game is a real challenge that she stepped up to quite admirably. Amanda Robertson played defense for the opposite last season and may get the chance to add to it by playing all around on that right side. Kayla Kirk has also gotten the chance to play in the front row on that side. Rachael Moss is the key hitter on the outside both on the attack and with her powerful curving serve. She is probably the most dangerous hitter out of the back row as well. The other outside hitter position was technically held by Sophia Dunworth, who was able to display her positional versatility. While she did play on the outside, she also drifted inside and did well in blocking duties. She played on the inside for some rotations in order to free up the most deadly attacker on the team in Becci Burling. Burling’s attacking ability in the middle is only surpassed by her abilities to hit from the outside. She also brings solid blocking abilities to the front line and will be expected to provide some vocal leadership on the court. Off the bench, Brittany Staffeil has mostly been used in defensive situations, but she is also a skilled, accurate hitter on the outside while Juliana Traut brings more power to the left side. The freshmen are not listed on the roster currently, but they were listed in news items. Christiana Gray looks to play in the vacant middle blocker position, while two defensive players and one outside hitter were also brought in for the season.
Outlook:
This team will need to address a couple of holes to ensure that it reaches the same level as it has in the past few years. While the team will definitely have a strong attacking threat, making sure that the blocking in the middle is solid will also be critical. Losing an opposite is a very important matter for Duke as it is such a critical part of the attack due to the high percentage of the attacks that the team has historically enjoyed from the right side. Fortunately, it looks like there are some experienced options for that spot. Expect this team to be an ACC contender again this season. While the rest of the teams in the ACC are also getting stronger, Duke has been in a very strong position to recruit nationally and bring in some great players. As mentioned earlier, the schedule does slightly favor the team in the sense that Duke does get to play the Clemson-Georgia Tech pod only once, but the team does have 11 away games to 9 home games. Is this the year that the program takes one giant step forward in the NCAA tournament? It will be tough as the second round almost always contains a perennial volleyball power, but this team will break that barrier eventually.