Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus #4 Pitt on October 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
/
6:30 PM
Volleyball
vs #4 Pitt
Duke Fall Sports Hit Their Stride
10/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country, Field Hockey, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Volleyball
DURHAM, N.C. - With the fall sports season about to hit the stretch run, Duke has several programs among the contenders for conference and national championships.
The Blue Devils had a superlative fall last year when the field hockey team finished as the NCAA runnerup, the women's cross country team placed third in the NCAA, the men's soccer team won the ACC, the men's cross country team claimed the IC4A, and the volleyball and women's soccer teams reached the second round of the playoffs.
This fall could offer similar accomplishments given the performance by Duke teams thus far.
The volleyball team has been the hottest from the start of the season to now, registering an overall mark of 16-2 and a perfect 9-0 slate in ACC play, the only conference team still unbeaten. Duke was picked by the ACC coaches to win the league and the Devils have taken care of business in every conference outing to date. The only losses have come to No. 2 Penn State on the Nittany Lions' home floor and to Notre Dame in a tourney at Arizona State.
The Notre Dame contest was the Devils' last non-league game. Since then they've won nine in a row against ACC teams, with seven of the nine coming by 3-0 scores. Only Georgia Tech and Virginia have been able to avoid sweeps by Duke at this point.
Duke has been aided by playing six of its first nine ACC games at home, but that changes over the next week with four straight on the road ? Miami, FSU, Georgia Tech and Clemson, all between Oct. 20-28.
ACC volleyball is the only league sport that crowns its champion solely on regular season play. There is no longer a postseason tournament. Duke will need to remain in first place to claim the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, but still could get in with a high conference finish. Last year UNC and Maryland tied for the top after the 22-game round-robin ACC slate, and both were invited. Duke also got a bid with a strong finishing kick that saw it win 12 of its last 13 matches.
Coach Jolene Nagel has been getting production from just about everyone in her lineup, from senior Tealle Hunkus to junior stars Ali Hausfeld, Carrie DeMange and Jenny Shull, to freshman Rachael Moss, the ACC player of the week recently. The Devils' sweep of Boston College last weekend marked the team's 26th straight home win.
“We're really excited to have finished this stretch of five matches in eight days like we did and as strong as we did,” said Nagel. “I really feel like our team is mentally doing a great job of playing with maturity and maintaining our composure throughout matches.”
Men's soccer
The men's soccer team also is sitting atop the ACC standings, with their recent 4-1 rout of N.C. State boosting their conference record to 4-1-1 entering an Oct. 20 home date with North Carolina. Ranked fourth in the country, the Blue Devils have won three in a row since their 1-0 loss at third-ranked Maryland on Sept. 29.
Two of the more impressive wins have come against Wake Forest and Virginia. Duke overcame a 2-1 deficit beat the Deacs 4-3 in the league opener, and recently nudged third-ranked Virginia 2-1 on goals by Tim Jepson and Joe Germanese, a Vanderbilt transfer.
The win at N.C. State gave coach John Rennie victory No. 392 at Duke, the most overall wins of any coach at an ACC school. It also tied him with former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim for most career wins in ACC matches with 90. The Blue Devils have two more chances to break that record for Rennie this season, with the upcoming UNC contest followed by a trip to Clemson.
“I haven't even thought about it,” Rennie said of the records. “I've had a lot of great players and a lot of great assistant coaches. And I've been here a long time, so that adds up to a lot of wins.”
The match at Clemson on Oct. 27 concludes the ACC regular season, with the tourney to follow in early November.
Women's soccer
North Carolina has taken control, as usual, of the ACC women's soccer race. Their recent 3-0 win at Duke kept them atop the league standings, but the Blue Devils are still in the thick of the fight for NCAA consideration with a 7-5-2 mark and a winning record (3-2-2) in America's best soccer league.
The Blue Devils have been using as many as five freshmen at times and have been competitive almost every time out, with four of the five defeats coming to nationally ranked teams. Duke was in the poll all fall before dropping out last week in the aftermath of the UNC loss. Duke played Maryland on the road in its subsequent match and responded with a season high of 37 shots on goal but could not get any of them past the keeper and had to settle for a 0-0 tie.
The team has four games remaining before the ACC tourney begins Nov. 1 in nearby Cary.
Field hockey
The field hockey team is in the midst of its fourth straight season of excellence under coach Beth Bozman, after playing for the national championship the last three years. The Devils have been ranked among the top five teams in the country every week this year and have played an unbelievable schedule with 10 of their 16 matches against fellow top 20 programs.
Duke has lost four times, twice in double overtime, all to top 10 teams. Two of the defeats came at the hands of No. 3 Old Dominion. The other two were administered by No. 2 Wake Forest and No. 7 Boston College (another overtime affair).
The Devils also have had impressive victories, including a shutout of No. 1 ranked and previously unbeaten Maryland at College Park, 2-0, and a 2-1 overtime win over No. 5 UNC. Senior Amy Stopford got the game-winner against UNC on a penalty stroke, while she and sophomore Marian Dickinson had the two scores at Maryland. Dickinson, with three hat tricks to her credit, leads the team in offensive output with 17 goals and 10 assists while Stopford has 11 goals.
The Maryland game offered a touch of payback for last year's NCAA final, when the Terps edged the Blue Devils 1-0. This win put an end to Maryland's 21-game winning streak. Stopford was named ACC player of the week for the second time.
Duke has a 12-4 overall record and 2-2 ACC mark with two contests left before the ACC tourney at UNC beginning Nov. 2.
Cross country
In cross country action the Duke women have remained in the national poll this year while posting some solid results as they point toward the upcoming ACC meet. They took a No. 20 ranking into last week's Chile Pepper Festival at Arkansas and came away with second place, behind only fourth ranked Arkansas. They also placed fifth at the Oregon Invitational and won the James Madison meet, while their “B” team took a 16-team event at Greensboro.
Individually, grad student Emily McCabe (see page 21) has been the top Duke runner in every meet, with sophomore Maddie McKeever usually right behind to give the team a solid one-two punch.
The ACC meet on Oct. 28 will offer the women a chance for a third straight conference crown, but there could be some strong challenges as Florida State, Virginia and Boston College all finished among the top 12 at the recent NCAA Pre-Nationals meet.
Duke was in that meet on the men's side and finished No. 26, with ACC rivals Florida State and N.C. State placing second and third. The Blue Devils would like a strong showing at the ACCs to springboard into a season-best effort at the NCAA regionals in Louisville, Ky., on Nov. 11.
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
M
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Men's SoccerS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballD
/ Men's Soccer
PLAYER
/ Cross Country
OH
/ VolleyballDS/L
/ VolleyballM
/ Field HockeyOut Here in Miami For Thanksgiving
Wednesday, December 04
Camera'd Up with Grace Thrower
Saturday, November 16
Big Lo on the Mic
Wednesday, November 13
Duke Athletics: A Tour of Campus
Saturday, October 19
