Duke Holds On For 3-2 Win Over Virginia Tech

Friday, November 21

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Virginia Tech

Duke Holds On For 3-2 Win Over Virginia Tech

11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Duke volleyball team held on for a 3-2 (25-25, 16-25, 25-17, 16-25, 22-20) win over Virginia Tech Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium thanks to a 15-kill effort from freshman Sophia Dunworth, double-doubles from junior Rachael Moss and freshman Kellie Catanach and a six-block performance from senior Jourdan Norman.

Duke (22-8, 13-5 ACC) won the first and third sets, but let Virginia Tech (20-9, 11-7 ACC) stay in the match after falling 25-16 in the fourth frame. The Blue Devils came through when it mattered most though, and fought off two match-point situations in the fifth set and scored four straight points to overcome a 20-19 deficit and lock up the win.

“I was very proud that our team hung in there tonight and kept fighting against a Virginia Tech team that played very well,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “Virginia Tech was blocking very well and just digging everything, so it was great to see us just hang in there and get that fifth game.

“I think our home crowd did a great job of trying to help us pull that fifth game out, too, and I'm just really excited that we showed that character out there tonight. It was great to win such a close match, and now we just need to get ready for tomorrow night.”

Dunworth had a team-leading 15 kills on a .343 hitting percentage and made just three attack errors on the night. She also added six digs and four blocks to match a career high with 17.5 total points. Moss, meanwhile, collected her team-leading 15th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 18 digs, while Norman put back six blocks, three of which came in the fifth set. Catanach helped out with 52 assists on Duke's 63 kills and recorded a double-double for the fifth time in her last six matches.

Duke libero Claire Smalzer also played a big role in the win as she collected 26 digs to help hold Virginia Tech (20-9, 11-7 ACC) to a .181 hitting percentage. It was the seventh time this season that Smalzer reached the 20-dig mark and pushed her over the 500 mark for the season.

Sophomore Becci Burling also neared a double-double with 10 kills and nine digs, while senior Sue Carls also reached double digits with 11 kills. Both Burling and Carls were one of six Blue Devils to record a block on the night, with Burling working her way in on three, all of which were alongside Catanach. The Blue Devils totaled 10 blocks on the night.

Duke managed to hold Felicia Willoughby, who entered the match as the ACC's leader in hitting percentage to a .143 clip, surrendering just nine kills on 28 attacks to Virginia Tech's sophomore middle blocker. The Blue Devils allowed just two Hokies to hit over .200 on the night, with Michelle Lang connecting on 5-of-11 attacks for a .364 clip and Alison Blasingame putting 14 of her 27 attempts on the floor. Blasingame was one of three Hokies in double figures, joining Sarah Munoz, who had 15 kills, and Taylor Parrish, who had 12.

Duke forced Virginia Tech into a .025 hitting percentage in the opening frame on the way to at 25-15 win. Moss played a key role in the defensive effort with eight digs, while Smalzer helped out with six and Catanach chipped in four. Moss and Burling also teamed up for one of Duke's two blocks, while Dunworth came through with a solo stop. On the offensive end, Catanach went to Dunworth nine times, and she responded with five kills without committing an error, while Carls also turned in an errorless 3-for-7 effort. The Hokies hung with Duke early in the frame and battled to an 11-11 tie, but could not hold the Blue Devils down for long. Duke went on a 7-1 run to break the tie and outscored Virginia Tech 14-4 for the remainder of the match

The Hokies returned the favor in the second frame and held Duke to a .070 clip with four blocks, including three from Blasingame. Virginia Tech also improved on the offensive end with a .265 hitting percentage after committing just two attack errors in the set. Dunworth stayed hot for Duke and connected on three of her six attacks, but Duke had trouble hitting around Munoz, who picked up seven digs and added a block. The strong defensive front allowed Virginia Tech to build a seven-point lead at 16-9, which was a big enough advantage to hold off a 6-2 Duke rally that cut the score to 18-15. The Hokies would give up just one more point for the remainder of the match though, and ended it on a 6-1 run.

Duke turned the tables again in the third set and hit .286 thanks to a five-kill, .333 effort from Burling, a 3-for-6, .500 outing from Dunworth, and a combined 4-for-7, .571 effort from the senior combination of Norman and Aana Wherry. Catanach tossed up 13 assists in the frame and saw 43 percent of her attempts hit the floor. Defensively, Smalzer picked up six digs, and four different Blue Devils combined for two blocks. After building a slight two-point lead at 12-10, Duke broke away with a 10-2 run to lead 22-14. Virginia Tech handed over two of Duke's final three points on a service error and a ball handling error before Dunworth ended the set with her third kill of the frame.

Now facing elimination with Duke ahead 2-1, Virginia Tech setter Erin Leaser shouldered the load and tossed up 13 assists to lead her team to a .353 hitting percentage in the fourth set on the way to a 25-16 match-tying win. Over 50 percent of Leaser's sets hit the court, as five different Hokies had two or more kills, including Munoz and Lang, who each had four. Virginia Tech did not trail at any point in the fourth set and built a commanding lead after an 8-4 run that put them on top 21-14, which was a large enough lead to hold off Duke and force a fifth set.

With the slate wiped clean and the match tied at 2-2, Duke took the first point in the fifth set, but had to work for every point. The Blue Devils twice faced a loss with Virginia Tech in a match-point advantage, but both times battled back to reclaim the lead. Trailing 20-19, Catanach dished the ball off to Carls, who hammered it to the court to knot the score at 20-20. A crucial attack error by Munoz the put Duke on top 21-20, giving Catanach the opportunity to send her final set to Moss, who put it on the floor to lock up the Duke win. The kill was the fourth of the set for Moss, who hit .444 with no errors. Norman and Smalzer also played big roles on the defensive end in Duke's match-clinching win, with Norman working the nets with three blocks and Smalzer manning the floor with six digs.

With a North Carolina loss, Duke is still in a position to overtake the lead in the ACC standings, but needs to get past Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. The Blue Devils will also honor Carls, Norman and Wherry prior to the start of the match as part of Senior Night.

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