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2 PM
Volleyball
vs #25 North Carolina
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Friday, October 22
Coral Gables, Fla.
7:00 p.m.
Duke University
3
at
2
Miami
Burling Pounds 1,000th Career Kill in 3-2 Win Over Miami
10/22/2010 9:00:00 PM | Volleyball
CORAL GALES, Fla. - Becci Burling knocked down 21 kills and became the 19th player in Duke volleyball history to record 1,000 career kills while leading Duke to a 3-2 (32-20, 11-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-9) win over Miami on Friday evening in the James Knight Complex.
A 6-1 senior middle blocker, Burling took a career-high 51 attacks to reach the milestone and now ranks 15th all-time at Duke with 1,019 career kills. She opened the night by going 8-for-13 in the first set and finished with only four attack errors for the match.
"Becci continues to do spectacular things out there for our team every night," said Duke head coach Jolene Nagel, who has now coached eight of Duke's 1,000-kill performers. "We only got six blocks, but she had four of them. She had nine digs, and her attack numbers were just outstanding. What she did as a middle blocker, getting 21 kills and that many attempts, that doesn't happen that often. That shows how good our defense was in getting the ball to [setter] Kellie [Catanach] so she could set up Becci."
Burling was one of five Blue Devils to finish with double-digit kills, leading a group that included double-double contributors Claire Smalzer and Amanda Robertson. Catanach kept Miami (15-6, 5-5 ACC) guessing and finished with 59 assists while allowing four Blue Devils to take at least 28 attacks. Sophomore Christiana Gray and junior Sophia Dunworth both chipped in 12 kills with Gray hitting .579 and Dunworth coming through with a perfect 4-for-4 showing in the fifth and final set.
Duke (17-3, 9-1 ACC) struggled defensively in the first two sets, allowing Miami to hit .333 and .361, but locked down over the final three games to pull out the win. Freshman libero Ali McCurdy, who entered the match ranked third in the ACC in digs per set, picked up 34 digs against the Hurricanes, including 10 each in games three and four. McCurdy, a 5-7 native of Tampa, Fla., has now posted 30 digs twice this season and has instantly become a key component of a Duke defense that has held opponents to an ACC-low .158 hitting percentage.
"I think the team wasn't communicating well at first, and after struggling in game two, we made some adjustments which allowed us to play our game better," Nagel said. "In game one, they did a great job to just hang tough mentally and keep playing that game close. Miami did some really good things; they had more aces, but we kept it close in every other category. The big thing was having five of our players in double-digit kills. Credit Kellie for mixing up the offense and distributing the ball so well. She made some good choices, great decisions out there tonight."
Miami got 21 kills two-time All-ACC selection Lane Carico and an 11-for-22 outing from Alex Johnson, but faltered late as Duke rallied for a 15-9 win in set five. The Hurricanes held Duke to a .239 clip in the first four sets, but could not stop Catanach from directing the Blue Devils to a .450 attack percentage in game five. Under Catanach's direction, Duke made only one attack error while connecting on 10-of-20 attempts.
The Blue Devils will now have an even more difficult test on Sunday, Oct. 24, when they travel to Tallahassee, Fla., to take on 24th-ranked Florida State. The reigning ACC Champion Seminoles boast one of the biggest rosters in the league and will square off against the Blue Devils at 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
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