Moss Powers Duke Past Virginia In Four Games

Friday, October 6

Durham, N.C.

7 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia

Moss Powers Duke Past Virginia In Four Games

10/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. ? Freshman Rachael Moss recorded nine kills in the decisive fourth game en route to a match-high 19 kills as the Duke volleyball team defeated Virginia, 3-1 (30-22, 30-25, 24-30, 30-22), Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils improve to 12-2 overall and 5-0 in the ACC while the Cavaliers fall to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in league play.

“We're really excited to be able to come out and do well at home against such a solid team,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “I think our team is doing a good job of taking one match at a time and we are really showing maturity in the way we prepare for each match and how we play. That is really exciting to see.”

In the opening game, the Blue Devils jumped out to an early 12-3 lead. Duke would push its lead to 10 points at 17-7 before closing out the game with a 30-22 win.

Duke took a 13-5 advantage early in game two before Virginia cut the lead to three points at 18-15. The Cavaliers would cut the lead to three points on three more occasions down the stretch before the Blue Devils pulled away with a 30-25 game two victory.

After the two teams traded the first 20 points of game three, Virginia went on a 14-6 run to take a 24-16 lead. Duke would cut the lead to two points at 26-24 but the Cavaliers held on for a 30-24 win.

In the fourth and final game, Duke and Virginia traded the first 18 points before the Blue Devils used an 8-3 run to take a 17-12 lead. The Cavaliers cut the lead to one at 18-17 before Duke pulled away for a 30-22 game four victory.

Moss also added a career-high 25 digs and recorded a service ace, as well. Prior to her offensive outburst in game four, junior Ali Hausfeld was doing an outstanding job spreading the wealth. At the end of the third game, five Blue Devils had either 10 or 11 kills.

Junior Carrie DeMange had 14 kills and a season-high 21 digs to go along with six blocks. She also had a solid night serving, leading the team with service attempts and also recording an ace.

Hausfeld finished with 57 assists and a season-high 15 digs. She also had three kills, all seeming to come at critical times, and a service ace. With the 57 assists, Hausfeld moved into second place on Duke's all-time career assists list with 3,580 career assists.

Senior Tealle Hunkus surpassed the 1,000 career dig plateau with 17 on the night and added 13 kills for a double-double performance. After struggling in the first two games and hitting .000 at that point, she hit over .300 and didn't record a hitting error over those final two games.

Sophomore Sue Carls had an outstanding match, recording 11 kills and hitting a high percentage throughout. After the first game, she was hitting over .800 and through three games, she remained at over .400 the rest of the match, finishing at .417. She added five assists and five blocks.

Junior Jenny Shull finished with 20 digs for the eighth time this season. She added one assist and one service ace and also had a team-high 33 service receptions without an error.

“I think this team has done a great job of getting better and challenging each other in practice,” Nagel added. “That's one of the reasons we've been able to play consistently at a high level because everyone is pushing each other day in and day out.”

The Blue Devils will host Virginia Tech (10-6, 4-3 ACC) tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The Hokies fell to Wake Forest, 3-2, earlier Friday night. The Duke-Virginia Tech match will be broadcast live online by ACC Select, the conference's subscription video package.

-d-u-k-e-