Duke Remains Undefeated with 3-0 Win Over UNC

Friday, October 8

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Remains Undefeated with 3-0 Win Over UNC

10/8/2010 9:27:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – In a showdown between the two remaining unbeaten ACC teams, Kellie Catanach posted her fourth straight doubled-double to lead Duke to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-16) sweep over North Carolina on Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) takes over first place in the conference after handing North Carolina its first loss since Sept. 10 against No. 21 LSU. Catanach collected 32 assists, 10 digs, three kills and a service ace to become only the fourth Duke player in school history to surpass 3,300 career assists.

“We're really excited that we were able to come out tonight and execute at the level we've been practicing at every day,” said head coach Jolene Nagel who became the third coach in ACC history to reach 150 ACC wins. “I'm just so excited about our focus, effort and execution tonight. I thought our defense was the difference. We set some good blocks, won some of those long rallies and controlled the ball when we had a chance. That, and serving tough, let us do what we wanted and run our offense how we wanted to.”

Against the third best defensive team in the ACC, Catanach directed the Blue Devils to a .333 hitting percentage and 45 kills. Led by junior Amanda Robertson, who knocked down 10 kills on a .381 clip, and junior Sophia Dunworth, who totaled nine kills with no attack errors, the Blue Devils made only 11 errors on their 102 attacks. Senior Becci Burling also contributed offensively with eight kills and a .333 clip while senior Claire Smalzer and sophomore Christiana Gray both added seven kills.

Duke also won the serving game by dropping in five aces while surrendering only one to North Carolina (15-5, 6-1 ACC). The Blue Devils forced five Tar Heel serving errors while getting two aces from Burling and one each from Smalzer, Robertson and Catanach. Freshman libero Ali McCurdy contributed 11 errorless service receptions and 12 digs while Duke did not allow an ace after the first set.

Duke entered the match holding opponents to a .144 hitting percentage – second-lowest in the league – and improved on that mark by holding North Carolina to a .130 clip. Gray, Burling and Smalzer all contributed three blocks – matching a career-high for Smalzer – while the Blue Devils outdug the Tar Heels 44-36.

Duke opened the match by scoring seven straight points on the way to a 25-20 opening-set win. The Blue Devils put together an early 9-2 lead, but could not hold North Carolina down long as the Tar Heels came back to tie the match at 18-18. From there, however, Duke got a pair of kills from Robertson to rebuild a 21-18 lead and cruised to the five-point win. Robertson and Dunworth had four kills each in game one while McCurdy collected seven digs.

Duke's offense took over in game two, hitting .500 on the way to a 25-12 victory. The Blue Devils, led by 10 assists from Catanach, knocked down 15 kills with only two attack errors while posting 22 points before North Carolina reached double digits. Burling and Dunworth both went 3-for-5 with no errors to pace the offense while Smalzer put back two blocks to help hold the Tar Heels to a .174 clip.

The momentum kept rolling into the third game for the Blue Devils, who held North Carolina to a -.062 clip in the final frame for a 25-16 win. Burling and Dunworth each had two of Duke's four blocks while Robertson contributed four kills on eight errorless attacks. North Carolina managed just seven kills and allowed Duke to end the game with a 7-3 run.

Duke will continue its homestand on Saturday, Oct. 9, with a 7 p.m. meeting against N.C. State in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke has won 18 straight against the Wolfpack.

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