Duke Wraps Up Weekend Sweep With 3-0 Win Over NC State

Saturday, October 4

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

N.C. State

Duke Takes Down Wisconsin 3-2 in Season Opener

Duke Wraps Up Weekend Sweep With 3-0 Win Over NC State

10/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM N.C. ? Becci Burling put down nine of her 14 attacks, three blocks and a career-high four service aces to lead Duke to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 25-18) win over NC State Saturday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

A 6-1 sophomore, Burling hit an even .500 in the match after making just two attack errors and accounted for 14.5 of Duke's points to tie a three-set career-high. Behind Burling's all-around effort, Duke (12-5, 3-2 ACC) hit .381 against NC State (8-11, 2-2 ACC) while holding the Wolfpack to a .055 clip for the team's second straight ACC win.

Burling tied junior teammate Rachael Moss for the team kills lead against NC State, while senior Jourdan Norman and freshman Sophia Dunworth also came through with seven kills apiece. One night after overtaking Duke's all-time block record in a 3-1 win against North Carolina, Norman went 7-for-9 attacking without an error and picked up one more block to improve her career total to 555. Senior Sue Carls took advantage of the attention drawn by Norman and put down five of her 11 attacks at a .364 clip.

Freshman setter Kellie Catanach also played a big role in Duke's attacking efficiency, collecting 34 assists in 54 attempts for a career-high .630 setting percentage. The 6-2 freshman is averaging 10.39 assists per frame and has seen over 43 percent of her sets go down for kills this season.

On a defensive effort that received 10 digs from Moss, eight from libero Claire Smalzer and seven each from Catanach and senior Aana Wherry, Duke allowed just 24 of NC State's 91 attacks to touch the floor while forcing 19 Wolfpack errors. Reigning ACC Player of the Week Aiwane Iboaya was NC State's top producer with seven kills at a .231 hitting percentage, which was the highest clip among her teammates with more than three attacks. The shutdown effort from Duke marked the third straight match in which the Blue Devils held their opponent to a sub-.100 hitting percentage.

The Blue Devils came out swinging and connected on 17 of their 31 attacks in the opener on the way to a 25-13 win. Duke hit .387 in the set and made just five attack errors while holding the Wolfpack to a -.032 clip. Duke let just four of NC State's 31 attacks hit the floor thanks to a five-dig effort from Wherry and a pair of four-dig outings from Moss and Smalzer. Burling was active for the Blue Devils as well, hammering five kills on seven attacks along with two blocks. Carls and Norman were near-flawless, combining for five kills on six attacks. Freshman Kayla Kirk also subbed into the game and recorded her third career block on her first play of the match. Duke was able to reach 21 points before NC State got into double figures and put the match away with some help from Moss, Burling and junior Brittany Staffeil, who each had a kill, including two from Burling, over Duke's final run.

Duke kept rolling in the second set and hit .375 while making just two attack errors on the way to another 25-13 win. Norman stayed perfect, coming through on four of her five errorless attacks to pick up the bulk of Duke's 11 kills. NC State stayed in the game early, trailing 8-7, but gave way to a 10-1 Duke run before calling a timeout with the score at 18-8. Burling had two kills, an assist and an ace during the tear while Duke also forced three Wolfpack attacking errors during the run. After the timeout, Duke put the match away with a 7-4 run that included a string of six straight serves by Moss, two of which fell in for aces. Sophomore Alex Sall came off the bench to hook up with Dunworth for the final kill of the frame.

The Blue Devils took another early lead in the third set and held a comfortable lead until NC State made a late run and cut the deficit to two point sat 20-18. Behind a five-kill effort from Moss, however, the Blue Devils were able to put the match away by scoring five straight to end the threat. One of Moss' kills came from junior Christina Falcone, who subbed in to serve up two assists, the other of which went to Burling. Falcone relieved Catanach in the set, who threw up 14 total sets, 10 of which were put down for kills.

The win against the Wolfpack marks Duke's last home match until Maryland and Boston College come to town on Oct. 24-25. Duke will make road trips over the next two weekends, beginning with a trip to Georgia Tech and Clemson on Oct. 11 followed by another outing at Virginia and Virginia Tech on Oct. 17-18.

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