Duke Falls 3-2 to No. 16 Florida State

Friday, November 6

Tallahassee, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Florida State

Volleyball Looks to Gain Ground in ACC this Weekend

Duke Falls 3-2 to No. 16 Florida State

11/6/2009 9:00:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Fatma Yildirim logged a double-double with 15 kills and 21 digs to lead No. 16 Florida State to a 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-13, 21-25, 15-11) win over Duke Friday evening in Tully Gym.

In a match that featured the top two teams in the ACC, Florida State (22-2, 13-1 ACC) came out on top after posting a .306 team hitting percentage and 16 blocks. Yildirim was one of three Seminoles to hit over .380, making just one attack error to finish with a team-high .542 hitting percentage.

Duke (21-5, 11-3 ACC) dropped two straight sets to fall behind 2-1, but rallied with a 25-21 game four win to force a fifth set. The Blue Devils battled to an 11-11 tie in the final game, but had their comeback bid spoiled when Florida State middle blocker Jordana Price came through with consecutive blocks as part of a 4-0 run that clinched the win for the Seminoles. Price finished with eight blocks and 11 kills.

"When our team was communicating well and serving tough, they made great things happen tonight," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "But we just needed to sustain that for a longer period of time to get past such a good Florida State team. We'll continue to work on the mental aspect of our game as we go into our match against Miami on Sunday."

Florida State's setting duo of Duygu Duzceler and Nikki Baker combined for 52 assists in the five-game affair and helped Florida State become just the third team all season to hit over .300 against the Blue Devils. Duke entered the match holding opponents to an ACC-low .150 hitting percentage, but allowed Florida State - which ranked sixth nationally with a .303 team hitting percentage - to post a .300 clip for the second time this season . ACC hitting percentage leader Brianna Barry also posted a .421 clip on the night.

Duke setter Kellie Catanach made use of Duke's outside hitters, sending a combined 101 attacks to Rachael Moss and Sophia Dunworth. Moss made the most of her opportunities and connected on 20 kills for her ninth double-double of the season, while Dunworth also reached double figures with 15 kills.

Junior middle blocker Becci Burling provided six blocks for Duke, including two solo stops, but could do little else to stop the Florida State offense. Catanach also worked her way in on four stops, but Florida State had plenty of options and had four players finish with at least 10 kills.

Duke took the first set 25-22 and fought off a late Florida State rally that saw the Seminoles tie the match at 21-21. Duke led 20-18 until the Seminoles scored three straight points, but then got a boost when senior Brittany Staffeil placed a well-time kill on Florida State's side of the court to reclaim the Duke lead. Libero Claire Smalzer, who entered the match as Duke's leader in service aces, then put the game away with her 34^th ace of the season.

Dropping the first game sparked Florida State's offense, however, as the Seminoles hit .462 in game two on the way to a 25-19 victory. The Seminoles totaled 15 kills in the set while making just three attack errors. Despite a 7-for-10 performance from Moss, Florida State broke the game open with a 10-4 run that ran the lead to 18-10. Duke rallied to cut the deficit to five points after a late rally, but could not make up the difference that was created by the performance of Price, Barry and Mira Djuric, who combined to go a perfect 9-for-9.

Florida State's offense was even more efficient in the third game, hitting .533 in a 25-18 victory that put the Seminoles ahead 2-1. Led by 15 assists in 25 sets by Baker and Duzceler, Florida State committed just one attack error on 30 attacks. Duke, meanwhile, was held to a .081 clip after the Seminoles posted three blocks and forced Duke into six attack errors.

Down, but not out, the Blue Devils staved off elimination with a 25-21 fourth-set victory that tied the match at 2-2 and sent it into a deciding game five. The Blue Devils hit just .170, but hammered 18 kills while surrendering just 11 to the Seminoles. Moss came up big once again for Duke, totaling six kills while Dunworth and freshman Megan Hendrickson provided the rest of the offense with a combined nine kills.

With the match on the line, Florida State came out firing and took a 5-0 lead in the final game. Duke rallied, however, and tied the match at 9-9 and again at 11-11. Florida State fought off Duke's final shot at an upset though, and scored four straight points, beginning with Stephanie Neville's eighth kill of the night. From there, Price blocked two straight attacks to run the score to 14-11, setting up a match point that the Seminoles got on a Duke attack error.

Duke will now travel to Coral Gables, Fla., to face off against Miami on Sunday, Nov. 8. Duke swept the Hurricanes 3-0 in their last meeting this season.

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