10 | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2012
THE CHRONICLE
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Duke plays Wake Forest in third ACC game, hoping to continue previous success
Blue Devils face Triangle rivals by Jackie Klauberg THE CHRONICLE
CHRIS DIECKHAUS/THE CHRONICLE
Duke has scored five goals in the past two games, and is looking to continue its pattern of success Friday. by Rooshil shah THE CHRONICLE
Fresh off a 2-0 win over Clemson last week, the Blue Devils (3-3-0, 1-1-0 in the ACC) will be looking to continue their recent success in an away game against Wake Forest (4-1-2, 0-0-2 in the ACC) at the Spry Stadium. After its midweek home game against UNC Greensboro this past Tuesday was cancelled, Duke, which has won three No. 16 out of its last four games, is lookDuke ing forward to Friday’s game. vs. “We’ve scored five goals in our Wake past two games,” head coach John Forest Kerr said. None more so than keeper FRIDAY, 7 p.m. Spry Stadium James Belshaw, whose major role in the past two Duke shutout victories resulted in him being recognized as the NSCAA National Player of the Week in addition to being awarded the ACC player of the week. “He’s been outstanding—his game-changing saves against Clemson last week were huge and gave the team the strength to go on and win the game,” Kerr said. He also described Belshaw, who scored a penalty in the game against Clemson, as “a great presence [and] a great leader.” Wake Forest comes into this game having lost both
its ACC matchups so far but Kerr was cautious against being too optimistic. “They’re a top-20 team” Kerr said. “It’s going to be huge challenge for us but we’re looking forward to it. They’ve beaten some real good teams so far, so yes, it’s going to be a difficult game.” They possess a balanced team and Kerr noted that strikers Sean Okoli and Michael Gamble could be potential threats. “They’re quick on the ball, goal scorers and dangerous in the box, so we’ll have to contain them,” Kerr said. Duke will be resting its hopes on the back five to keep Wake Forest quiet and Kerr said he believes that a strong defensive performance will give the Blue Devils a much-needed offensive surge in the game. “We have some great defenders—Sebastien Ibheaga’s been in great form,” he said. Kerr feels that a continuation of this high level of play will provide Duke the platform it needs in the upcoming match. “If we can keep [our momentum going] then we have a good shot at winning this game,” he said. If Duke does manage to get on the winning end Friday, then they’ll be over .500 for the first time this season.
The gyms Friday and Sunday nights respectively will likely be painted red and baby blue, but Blue Devil head coach Jolene Nagel hopes that some of those colors can be washed out by some royal blue. All the colors of Triangle will be on display as the Blue Devils (9-3, 0-0) open up conference play this weekend with two quick trips down the road to N.C. State (12-1, 2-0 in the ACC) and North Carolina (9-2, 0-1 in the ACC) on Friday and Sunday. Nagel said she knows that the battles will not be settled quietly. Duke “N.C. State’s crowd is always a loud crowd in Reynolds’ Coliseum,” Nagel vs. said. “So I’m kind of wishing I had gotN.C. ten a bus to take Duke people to both State matches this weekend right now.” Nagel said she is aware of the chalFRIDAY, 7 p.m. lenge ahead of her team. Not only does Reynolds Coliseum N.C. State have the home-court advantage, but the team also has two conferDuke ence wins under its belt going into Friday’s match. vs. Sophomore outside hitters DariUNC yan Hopper and Nikki Glass will lead the Wolfpack. Hopper leads her team with 137 kills so far this season, and SUNDAY, 2 p.m. Glass leads the conference in terms of Carmichael Arena serving with a 50-percent rate on aces. N.C. State beat North Carolina 3-1 last weekend and swept Wake Forest Wednesday night, earning the team the No. 1 ranking in the conference. The Wolfpack currently rank first in the conference in terms of lowest opponent hitting percentage while the Tar Heels rank second. North Carolina currently sits at 0-1 in conference play. The Blue Devils will focus their hitting around the Tar Heels’ 6-foot-2 freshman middle blocker, Paige Neuenfeldt, who ranks second in the ACC in terms of blocks, averaging 1.41 blocks per set. Nagel noted that the relationship between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels is civil and courteous but definitely not warm and fuzzy. “We respect them very much, and they respect us very much, [but] once you get on the court, all bets are off,” Nagel said. “It doesn’t matter how anyone performed thus far in the season because everyone raises their level of play and we have to do that in their home environment, which is not easy.” The Blue Devils take the court Friday night coming off a 1-2 weekend in Michigan, where they suffered a 3-2 loss to then-No. 22 Michigan last Saturday before returning to Durham. “We are looking to build on our last match at Michigan,” Nagel said. “It was a great effort and we want to build on that [going into ACC play]. We’ve got to take things one match at a time.”
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