Duke Sweeps Boston College 3-0 for 20th Win

Friday, October 30

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Boston College

Duke Sweeps Boston College 3-0 for 20th Win

10/30/2009 9:00:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - Becci Burling and Rachael Moss combined for 28 kills and both hit over .300 to lead Duke to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-18) win over Boston College Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The win was the 20th of the season for the Blue Devils (20-4, 10-2 ACC), who have now reached that mark for six straight seasons and nine times in 11 seasons under head coach Jolene Nagel. Duke remains just one game behind No. 17 Florida State for first place in the ACC.

"We're excited to have had the opportunity to be at home and get this win under our belt as we start the second half of our ACC schedule," Nagel said. "I thought the team did a great job communicating and adjusting as necessary out there. It was a great team effort."

Burling led the team with 16 kills and 32 attacks, reaching double figures for the ninth straight match. Burling has totaled 118 kills during that nine-match tear, which is the longest of the season by any Blue Devil. Moss, meanwhile, hammered 12 kills and made just two attack errors on the way to a .385 hitting percentage. She was just one dig shy of recording a double-double, finishing with nine to compliment a pair of blocks.

Setter Kellie Catanach dished out 33 assists to lead Duke to a .275 hitting percentage and also contributed two kills without an error. She also picked up seven digs and distributed the ball equally between Burling, Moss and sophomore Sophia Dunworth, who logged six kills on 19 attacks. She also sent eight balls to freshman middle blocker Christiana Gray, who connected on four of them for kills without making an error.

All 15 players on Duke's roster logged playing time. Sophomore Amanda Robertson appeared in two games and added three service aces, while senior setter Christian Falcone came in in relief of Catanach in set two and chipped in three assists.

Boston College mustered a meager .059 hitting percentage against Duke, logging just 24 kills on 102 tries. Rainey Hanley led the team with seven kills, while only one Eagle was able to slip in a service ace against Duke. The Blue Devils have now given up three or less service aces in 13 of their 24 matches.

Duke opened the match by hitting .316 in the first set, making just three attack errors on the way to a 25-17 win. Burling notched a team-high six kills on 12 attacks, while defensive specialist Nailah Waterfield chipped in six digs. The Eagles hung tight early in the match, trailing 12-10, but gave way to an 8-2 run that gave Duke plenty of room to cruise to the win. Duke scored six straight during that run, including three kills from Burling and another from Catanach. With Duke leading 20-13, Gray came on strong late in the match, getting Duke's final two points with her first two kills of the night.

Duke had another big run in the second game, jumping out to as much as a 12-point lead on the way to a 25-14 win. Leading 9-7, Duke outscored the Eagles 11-2 over a stretch that included three straight service aces from Robertson. Robertson dropped in three of her five serves for aces during the set while also adding a kill and two blocks. Dunworth also helped out with four kills and no attack errors, while Burling racked up three more blocks. Burling also put the nail in the coffin by spiking her eighth kill of the match on the final point.

The Eagles did not go quietly in the third set and found themselves down by just four with the score 22-18, but Duke put down any shot at a comeback by scoring three straight points to clinch the sweep. With eight kills from Burling and a 5-for-5 showing from Moss, both Blue Devils reached double figures for the match. Burling chipped in her final two kills to run the score to 24-18 before Moss ended the match with her 12th kill of the night. Defensively, Duke held the Eagles to a .065 hitting percentage, thanks to seven digs from Smalzer and two blocks from Burling.

Duke continues its homestand this Saturday, Oct. 31, with a 7 p.m. bout against the Maryland Terrapins. Duke also swept Maryland 3-0 earlier in the season and will look to make it a fourth straight season sweep on Saturday.

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