Duke vs. USC

[burnspbesq]

The Duke women's volleyball team was that close to what would arguably have been the biggest win in the history of the program. They executed on offense, they made plays on defense, and they fought like hell. Game five was one of the most exciting college volleyball games I have ever seen; both teams were firing on all cylinders, and Duke fought off four match points before finally going down. In the end, the difference between the teams was about two inches; USC went to its big gun, 6'4" outside hitter Asia Kaczor. just about every time down the stretch in game five, and her size enabled her to go right over the Duke block.

The several hundred Duke fans in the crowd of almost 2,000 provided fantastic support to our team.

If Duke can consistently play that well all year, they very easily could go undefeated in the ACC, and possibly get to the second weekend of the NCAAs.

Mad props to Coach Nagel and the team. You made us proud.

[4decadedukie]

Very nice report - thank you.

[hughgs]

The Duke women's volleyball team was that close to what would arguably have been the biggest win in the history of the program. They executed on offense, they made plays on defense, and they fought like hell. Game five was one of the most exciting college volleyball games I have ever seen; both teams were firing on all cylinders, and Duke fought off four match points before finally going down. In the end, the difference between the teams was about two inches; USC went to its big gun, 6'4" outside hitter Asia Kaczor. just about every time down the stretch in game five, and her size enabled her to go right over the Duke block.

The several hundred Duke fans in the crowd of almost 2,000 provided fantastic support to our team.

If Duke can consistently play that well all year, they very easily could go undefeated in the ACC, and possibly get to the second weekend of the NCAAs.

Mad props to Coach Nagel and the team. You made us proud.

I would submit that if it weren't for a scheduling issue, Duke would've hosted the same teams as UNC and would've made the Sweet Sixteen.

I have it on good authority that the scheduling issue won't be a problem this year. Duke has to merely get a first seed in the ACC tournament and then win the tournament and I think the committee will let them host.

[heyman25]

USC's new arena was great. I was one of the Duke alums that made it to the game. The SC fans gave props to our team after it was over. Ali Hausfeld and Carrie DeMange, Jenny Shull ,Jourdan Norman, Sue Carls, Caroline Smalzer, and Jennifer Traut all gave a great performance.Copenhagen,Kaczor and Justice had some very nasty kills for SC.

[burnspbesq]

I would submit that if it weren't for a scheduling issue, Duke would've hosted the same teams as UNC and would've made the Sweet Sixteen.

I have it on good authority that the scheduling issue won't be a problem this year. Duke has to merely get a first seed in the ACC tournament and then win the tournament and I think the committee will let them host.

There is no ACC tournament in women's volleyball; the teams play a 22-match double round robin. Duke's last two non-conference matches of the season are this coming weekend: number one Nebraska on Friday night and either Louisville or New Mexico State (the top two teams in Others Receiving Votes in last week's coaches poll) on Saturday night.

Once conference play starts, Duke's strength of schedule goes straight down the tubes, which can only have an adverse impact on its seeding hopes for the NCAA tournament. It's critical that they make a big impression in their handful of matches against ranked teams. So far, they've done that.

[JasonEvans]

I find it interesting that the ACC is so bad in Volleyball. In most other non-revenue sports the ACC is among the best in the nation. In Golf, Tennis, Soccer, and Lacrosse, the ACC is about as good as it gets... both men's and women's. We are fairly good in baseball too. It is unusual for ACC schools to field teams in a sport and not be at least moderately successful in it.

What are some other sports the ACC stinks at? Do we even field teams in Gymnastics or Water Polo? I don't think the ACC is all that great in Track and Field or Wrestling, but I could be wrong.

--Jason "I am sure I could look this kinda stuff up myself-- but I am feeling lazy today ;) " Evans

[jimsumner]

I suspect the ACC's relative weakness in volleyball stems from the popularity of the sport on the west coast and the fact that the best prep players come from that neck of the woods.

The ACC is pretty good in track and field. Florida State won the 2007 NCAA team title.

[hughgs]

There is no ACC tournament in women's volleyball; the teams play a 22-match double round robin. Duke's last two non-conference matches of the season are this coming weekend: number one Nebraska on Friday night and either Louisville or New Mexico State (the top two teams in Others Receiving Votes in last week's coaches poll) on Saturday night.

Once conference play starts, Duke's strength of schedule goes straight down the tubes, which can only have an adverse impact on its seeding hopes for the NCAA tournament. It's critical that they make a big impression in their handful of matches against ranked teams. So far, they've done that.

You're right about the tournament, sorry about that. I should've known that. But I stand by the rest of my statement. The NCAA has historically allowed an ACC team to host the first weekend. They are not only interested in strength of schedule and the number of wins but are also interested in keeping volleyball a national sport rather than a regional one. Hence, the idea of allowing an ACC team to host.

[hughgs]

I suspect the ACC's relative weakness in volleyball stems from the popularity of the sport on the west coast and the fact that the best prep players come from that neck of the woods.

I would agree. Duke specifically recruits against Stanford in women's volleyball and it's hard to get a visit to Duke when Stanford is relatively close by and they offer a real chance at winning a National Championship.

I thought that getting Ali, Jenny, and Carrie was a real coup. While not familiar with their recruiting I suspect that Ali and Carrie could've gone to any Big 10 school and Jenny could've gone to most west coast schools.

[heyman25]

Rachael Moss 's dad is big in the high school volleyball scene in Orange County. She is from Cypress,CA, Tiger Woods hometown.Duke will get a few from So CAL. By the way Nebraska is no.1 in women's volleyball. Coach Nagel said quite a few great volleyballers are from the Midwest.

[hughgs]

Rachael Moss 's dad is big in the high school volleyball scene in Orange County. She is from Cypress,CA, Tiger Woods hometown.Duke will get a few from So CAL. By the way Nebraska is no.1 in women's volleyball. Coach Nagel said quite a few great volleyballers are from the Midwest.

I'm not sure if you're simply commenting on my post or refuting it. Duke has always gotten a few players from California, but there is no way you can compare the recruiting classes of Stanford and Duke. The Stanford class has always been higher ranked.

As far as there being great players from the Midwest, you can say that about any region and no one has argued against that point. The bigger point is that the west coast has a very large number of very good players and the fact that Duke is on the east coast adversely affects recruiting of those students.

[burnspbesq]

Duke is number 11 in the AVCA poll released earlier today.

The top five are unchanged: Nebraska, Stanford, Penn State, USC, and UCLA.

Nebraska buried Penn State in three over the weekend, in front of a NCAA regular season record crowd of over 13K. The only game they have lost so far this year was to UCLA in their opener.

The Huskers are huge and talented. They have a lot of homegrown players, and a group from the Denver metro area. Their best player, 6'5" Sarah Pavan, is from Kitchener, Ontario.

Many of the Huskers' matches are shown statewide on Nebraska Public Television. It may be possible to find a video feed of Friday night's match, if it's not picked up by CSTV or ESPNU.

[Clipsfan]

I'm not sure if you're simply commenting on my post or refuting it. Duke has always gotten a few players from California, but there is no way you can compare the recruiting classes of Stanford and Duke. The Stanford class has always been higher ranked.

As far as there being great players from the Midwest, you can say that about any region and no one has argued against that point. The bigger point is that the west coast has a very large number of very good players and the fact that Duke is on the east coast adversely affects recruiting of those students.

I agree wholeheartedly. I went to a high school in Los Angeles which had a couple phenomenal players in my class, both of whom chose to go to Stanford for that very reason. Duke's reputation on the West coast is as a basketball school, not as an academic institution, and as a result many of the athletes who play non-revenue sports pay much more attention to Stanford. They know that the Stanford degree carries a lot of weight out here, while the Duke degree sadly does not. It is still a great degree, but loses some of its luster due to the distance.

[DevilAlumna]

I find it interesting that the ACC is so bad in Volleyball. In most other non-revenue sports the ACC is among the best in the nation. In Golf, Tennis, Soccer, and Lacrosse, the ACC is about as good as it gets... both men's and women's. We are fairly good in baseball too. It is unusual for ACC schools to field teams in a sport and not be at least moderately successful in it.

What are some other sports the ACC stinks at? Do we even field teams in Gymnastics or Water Polo? I don't think the ACC is all that great in Track and Field or Wrestling, but I could be wrong.

--Jason "I am sure I could look this kinda stuff up myself-- but I am feeling lazy today ;) " Evans


I too find it interesting that the ACC has volleyball; I wonder how much of it is a legacy thing (always had a team, let's keep it), and/or a title 9 issue (don't want to lose the equivalent number of scholarships). My high school (in NoVA) sports league didn't field a volleyball team; I don't know of any surrounding regions that did, either. Anyone from the south (near other ACC schools) see the same absence of volleyball in HS?

Rowing, lacrosse and field hockey were quite popular in NoVA, but my family in Nebraska knew next to nothing about any of them. Huh, go figure, U of N doesn't have any varsity teams in those sports.