Norman Breaks Block Record As Duke Defeats North Carolina 3-1

Friday, October 3

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Norman Breaks Block Record As Duke Defeats North Carolina 3-1

10/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Senior Jourdan Norman racked up 11 kills, but more importantly came up with four blocks to break Duke's all-time blocks record and lead the Blue Devils to a 3-1 (25-16, 26-24, 24-26, 25-22) win over North Carolina Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Norman, who also owns Duke's single-season and single-match blocks records, accounted for 13.5 total points for Duke (11-5, 2-2 ACC) and picked up her 554th career stop to surpass the five-year-old record of 553 held by Krista Dill since 2003. It was also the fourth straight time in her four-year career that Norman and her fellow seniors Sue Carls and Aana Wherry defeated North Carolina (8-5, 2-1 ACC) at home in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“Jourdan getting that record is so impressive for her to do during her career here,” said Duke head coach Jolene Nagel. “I'm really excited for her to have her name in the record books, but I'm not surprised she has made that kind of impact on our program. We knew she was that kind of player when we recruited her, and we're just so glad of her accomplishments.”

Nagel also reached a milestone with her 200th career victory at Duke, becoming just the second coach in school history to reach the mark. Nagel now boasts a 200-95 record during her 10 seasons at Duke, which puts her at third among active ACC coaches and eighth on the conference's all-time list.

“It's exciting to get that win as well, especially against the opponent we played tonight,” Nagel said. “Coach (John) Wasielewski has been here just as long as I have, and we've accomplished all of these together.”

The Blue Devils put up a solid defensive performance against North Carolina and held the Tar Heels to a .091 hitting percentage while surpassing 100 digs for the second straight match. Norman, sophomore Becci Burling and freshman setter Kellie Catanach led the defensive effort at the net with four blocks apiece, while sophomore libero Claire Smalzer took care of the attacks that got past that trio and racked up 25 digs. Smalzer, in her first year as Duke's libero, reached the 25-dig plateau for the third straight match to raise her per-game average to 4.03 for the season.

Junior Rachael Moss and freshman Amanda Robertson joined Smalzer in the 20-dig club with 20 apiece, while freshman Sophia Dunworth, Wherry and Burling also reached double figures in the category. Moss recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 14 kills, while Burling picked up her third with 10 kills.

With the all-around defensive performance, Duke was able to hold North Carolina to less than a .170 hitting percentage in every set to offset a 14-block night from the Tar Heels. North Carolina's Ingrid Hanson-Tuntland, who held the ACC's blocks-per-game lead heading into Friday night, totaled a match-high eight stops along with 10 kills and a .304 hitting percentage. Heather Brooks worked her way in on six stops while Stephanie Jansma recorded five in addition to her 33 assists. Libero Brianna Eskola was just one dig shy of joining the 30-dig club.

“I'm just really excited for our team tonight,” Nagle said. “To be able to come out and execute like we did, like we're capable of, after losing such a close match on Tuesday is huge. It was a quick turnaround, and along with the fact that we worked so hard over the last two days in practice, I couldn't be more excited and happy.”

Duke played the match in front of its largest home crowd of the season, drawing 1,316 fans to the annual rivalry match.

“It was really exciting to have that great crowd and the band there tonight,” Nagel said. “It was nice to really feel a home atmosphere for a great ACC match. I think they really inspired our team and definitely contributed to the energy we were able to maintain tonight.”

With the win, Duke also gains a half point in the Carlyle Cup standings to trim the Tar Heels' lead to one half of a point. The annual competition between Duke and North Carolina keeps track of how the two schools fare against one another in each collegiate sport in which they meet. North Carolina currently leads one to one-half after picking up a win in field hockey. Duke can gain the other half point for volleyball when the teams next meet in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Nov. 13.

Duke came out on top in the first set of the defensive battle and made a statement with a 25-16 win in the opener. The Blue Devils held North Carolina to a -.089 hitting percentage, forcing 10 attacks errors while allowing just six kills. Meanwhile, Duke chalked up 15 kills and made just seven attack errors and two service errors in the win. Norman went 6-for-9 in the opener with a pair of blocks while Burling contributed three kills on six attacks and six digs. Norman was perfect through her first four attacks to lead Duke through an early 6-1 run on the way to an 8-3 lead. A Tar Heel timeout did little to phase the Blue Devils, as they came out with another 10-5 run to jump ahead 18-9. Norman had back-to-back blocks during the tear, while Burling also had kills on consecutive attacks. The Tar Heels finally got back on track after another timeout and matched Duke with a 7-6 run after the break, but could not make up the eight-point difference.

While the Tar Heels shifted their defensive focus to Norman in the second set, they could do little to stop her from harassing their attackers. Norman put back numerous North Carolina attacks, but none more important than her second block of the frame which clinched the set and made her Duke's new career blocks record holder. The block, which was the 554th of her four-year career, came immediately after Moss broke a 24-24 tie with her seventh kill of the set. Moss, who was held to just two kills in the opener, benefited from the attention drawn by Norman and turned in a .316 hitting percentage for the frame.

After trading the lead four times in the second set, Duke and North Carolina battled to 10 ties in the third set before the Tar Heels rallied from a 24-24 tie and took the set 26-24 when Hanson-Tuntland mashed her fourth kill of the frame. Neither team led by more than four points for the entire match and by no more than two after Duke rallied from a 10-6 deficit to tie the score at 12-12. After locking up again at 16-16, the teams battled to five straight ties before Duke broke a 21-21 deadlock with two quick points to lead 23-21. Hanson-Tuntland responded with a kill for the Tar Heels to run the score to 23-22 before North Carolina gave the point right back to Duke on an attack error. With Duke just one point away from clinching the match, the Tar Heels turned up defense and forced a pair of Duke attack errors, including one on a block from Hanson-Tuntland and Jansma to lock up once more at 24-24. One more Duke error put North Carolina ahead 25-22 before Hanson-Tuntland ended the threat with a kill to force another frame.

North Carolina appeared to hold the momentum heading into the fourth set and jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead, but could not hold off the Blue Devil tandem of Carls and Dunworth, who each contributed five kills and made just one error apiece. Their work allowed Duke to hit .267 for the set after failing to manage more than a .179 clip over the previous three frames. Meanwhile, Duke continued to suffocate the Tar Heels and held them to a .167 percentage, which was their highest of the evening. When Burling, Catanach and Norman weren't blocking North Carolina at the net, Smalzer and Moss teamed up on the defensive end and combined for 14 digs, with Smalzer collecting eight. Duke built an early four-point lead at 12-8 and never trailed for the remainder of the match, despite having to hold off a late Tar Heel run that cut the lead to one point at 23-22. Carls interrupted the late run, however, with a well-earned kill that put Duke within one point of clinching the match. North Carolina would eventually give it away with an attack error out-of-bounds after failing to penetrate the Duke defense.

The win knots Duke's ACC record up at 2-2. The Blue Devils will have a chance to move above the .500 mark in conference play this Saturday, Oct. 4, when in-state rival NC State comes to town for a 7 p.m. bout in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The showdown with the Wolfpack will be the last home match for Duke until Oct. 24.

-d-u-k-e-