Duke Stuns Georgia 3-2 To Win Duke Invitational

Saturday, September 6

Durham, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

Duke University

Georgia

Duke Volleyball Notes: NCAA Tournament (Rounds 1-2)

Duke Stuns Georgia 3-2 To Win Duke Invitational

9/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Led by a 20-kill effort from Rachael Moss and a 30-dig performance from Claire Smalzer, the Duke volleyball team overcame a 2-0 deficit against Georgia to stun the Bulldogs with a 3-2 (24-26, 19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-13) win on the final day of the Duke Invitational Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke trailed 2-0 after dropping both sets to the Bulldogs, but rallied to win the next two frames to force a do-or-die fifth set. The Blue Devils were poised to win the final set after jumping ahead 14-8, but the Bulldogs did not go away easily and came within one point of tying it up at 14-13. Moss, who was named tournament MVP, came through when her team needed her though, and won the match with her 20th kill of the afternoon.

“I was especially proud of how we kept our focus and tried to come out and attack even though we had our backs against the wall in games three, four and five,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “We were challenged all weekend and I'm pleased that we kept our composure and learned from the different situations we were put in. I really feel our team will grow from the competition we had this weekend.”

With the win, the Blue Devils (4-2, 0-0 ACC) have won 27 straight matches at their home tournament and take the Duke Invitational crown for the ninth straight year. Smalzer, a sophomore libero, was named to the all-tournament team and becomes the first Blue Devil to join the 30-dig club in 2008. Moss, meanwhile, also reached double figures with 15 digs to record her fourth straight double-double.

Senior middle blocker Jourdan Norman also turned in another dominant performance at the net with eight blocks. For the tournament, Norman had 23 stops for an average of 1.77 per set to go along with a .415 hitting percentage with 33 kills on 65 attacks. She was also named to the all-tournament team.

Sophomore middle hitter Becci Burling also reached double figures and recorded a double-double while setting career highs with 15 kills, 15 digs and five blocks. Senior teammate Sue Carls also had a hand in four of Duke's 11.5 blocks and contributed eight kills as well. All eight of Carls' kills came off assists from freshman setter Kellie Catanach who finished with 51 in the five-set match.

Georgia outside hitter Maria Taylor provided the bulk of the Bulldog (6-2) offense and had a team-high 76 attacks. Taylor connected on 32 of those attempts, including a combined 15 kills in Georgia's two set wins. Middle hitter Valentina Gonzalez match Norman's performance with eight blocks, but was held in check offensively to a .143 hitting percentage. Taylor and teammate Lindsay Gehan, who finished with nine kills, were each named to the Duke Invitational All-Tournament team.

Duke and Georgia fought hard from the first point of the match and exchanged the lead three times in the opening set, including a late comeback in which Georgia overcame a 24-22 deficit on the way to the 26-24 victory. The Bulldogs went to Taylor early and often in set one which paid off as she connected on nine of her 19 attacks with just two errors. The Blue Devils got three-kill efforts from Burling, Moss and Carls and a pair of aces from Catanach, but could not put the Bulldogs away. Georgia fell behind by as much as five points at 21-16, but rallied with a 6-1 run after a timeout to knot the score at 22-22. The Blue Devils responded with consecutive kills from Norman and Moss, but stumbled on the following serve and gave the Bulldogs the break they needed after the service error. Taylor then tied the score at 24-24 with her ninth kill of the opening set before Gehan put Georgia ahead with another kill. Needing just one more point to cap the comeback, the Bulldogs got another break when Duke's next serve touched just out of bounds.

Georgia kept the momentum heading in the second set and built an early five-point advantage at 14-9. Led once again by Taylor, who turned in six more kills, the Bulldogs managed to keep a comfortable lead on the way to a 25-19 win. Taylor hit .545 on 11 errorless attacks in the set while Erika Clark, Kathleen Gates and Valentina Gonzalez all added two kills each. Burling was Duke's top producer in the set, adding five kills on eight attacks and a block.

Though down 2-0, the Blue Devils refused to surrender and came out after the break to hold Georgia to a .051 clip on the way to a 25-19 win in the third set. Burling and Moss each added four kills on nine attacks while Norman and Sophia Dunworth chimed in with three kills each. Even more crucial in the win than Norman's kills were her two blocks. The stops came consecutively with Duke ahead 23-19 to seal the win. Her first block was a solo job while the second was a joint effort along with Moss. An early lead was key in the third-set win, as the Blue Devils scored the first five points of the match. From there, Duke led by no less than two points and by as much as six en route to the 25-19 win.

With the momentum now in their favor, the Blue Devils went to work in the fourth set and once again took an early five-point lead at 9-4. A nine-dig performance from Smalzer proved to be the difference for the Blue Devils, as she played a key role in limiting Georgia to just nine kills and a match-low .049 hitting percentage. With Smalzer manning the floor, Moss went to work on the offensive end and hammered six kills on 15 attacks. Norman also came through with two more blocks, giving her six to that point in the match.

With the two-set deficit wiped clean, Duke needed just 15 points to complete the sweep at the Duke Invitational. Georgia would not make it easy, however, and made the Blue Devils work for every point. Duke jumped ahead 14-8, putting them within one point of victory, but the Bulldogs fought back with five straight points, including three consecutive kills from Taylor, to run the score to 14-13. With Georgia now on the offensive, went to their go-to hitter on the outside in Moss, who hammered the final point with her fourth kill of the set and her team-leading 20th of the match.

“It was very exciting for us to be able to play in Cameron this weekend and see some of our faithful fans here to support us,” Nagel said. “The support we received from our fans were really helpful in finishing out game four and being able to win the last game.”

Up next for the Blue Devils is a two-day tournament at the UT-Arlington Invitational in Arlington, Texas on Sept. 12-13. Duke will open the tournament with a 7 p.m. bout against UT-Arlington on Friday, Sept. 12, before taking on South Carolina State at noon on Saturday and Middle Tennessee State at 7:30 p.m.

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