Completed Event: Volleyball versus California on November 28, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 3
/
Final
Volleyball
2
vs California
3
No. 11 Duke Prepares For Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge
9/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
DURHAM, N.C. ? The No. 11 Duke volleyball team will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to participate in the Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge, hosted by No. 1 Nebraska at NU Coliseum on Sept. 7-8.
Duke (5-1) will face No. 1 Nebraska on Friday, Sept. 7 to open the invitational and will conclude the tournament with a contest against either New Mexico State or Louisville on Saturday. While Nebraska holds the No. 1 spot, both New Mexico State and Louisville are on the verge of cracking the top-25 as well, receiving a combined 69 votes in the latest CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Poll.
The Blue Devils enter the Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge with their highest national ranking in program history. Duke jumped three spots from No. 14 after posting a 2-1 record at the USC Classic that included 3-0 sweeps over Mercer and Cal State Northridge. The Blue Devils also flirted with an upset over No. 4 USC, taking the Trojans to a hard-fought game five before falling 3-2 (26-30, 30-26, 30-20, 24-30, 19-17) to the tournament host.
Duke's 2007 resume already includes three 3-0 sweeps and a 3-1 upset over No. 13 Purdue at the Duke Invitational on Aug. 25. The Blue Devils are atop the ACC rankings in assists and kills and among the top-three in hitting percentage and digs. The senior trio of Carrie DeMange, Ali Hausfeld and Jenny Shull headline the Blue Devil lineup, while sophomore Rachael Moss and juniors Jourdan Norman and Sue Carls have made significant contributions as starters.
DeMange leads the team and the ACC with 102 kills this season, a career-high 32 of which came in the five-game bout against Southern Cal at the USC Classic. The senior middle blocker has posted two double-doubles this season, while flirting with two more in her last two matches. DeMange, averaging a conference-best 4.86 kills per game, also holds the team lead with four solo blocks, 230 attacks and 114.5 total points.
Hausfeld has maintained the same form that earned her ACC Player of the Year honors in 2006 and leads Duke with 283 assists and the ACC with a 13.48 per game average. The Springboro, Ohio native is on pace to break Duke's all-time assists record, needing just 331 more to surpass the previous mark of 5,082 set by Kristen Campbell from 1994-97.
Shull continues to lock down the Blue Devil defense as the team's primary libero. Over each of her past two seasons, Shull has racked up more than 600 digs and with 124 in six games this season, she is on pace to become the first player in school history to top the 600 mark for three straight seasons.
Moss has emerged as an all-around talent for Duke and leads the squad with 15 aces while ranking among the top-three on the team in kills and digs. The 2006 ACC and East Region Freshman of the Year has recorded a team-best four double-doubles on the year, including four in the last five matches. She also boasts one of the best serves in the ACC and set a new career-high earlier in the season with six aces in a single match.
Following their stint at the Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge, Duke will open ACC play with a home contest against Wake Forest on Sept. 18 at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke will then follow with two more home outings against Maryland and Boston College on Sept. 21-22 before hitting the road for five straight road matchups against ACC competition.
-d-u-k-e-
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballL
/ VolleyballAndie Smith, Duke | Interview | CGN
Thursday, November 13
Out 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
