Duke Takes Down Wisconsin 3-2 in Season Opener

Friday, August 28

Madison, Wis.

8:00 p.m.

Duke University

Wisconsin

Duke Takes Down Wisconsin 3-2 in Season Opener

8/28/2009 10:15:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

MADISON, Wisc. - Rachael Moss and Sophia Dunworth each put down 16 kills, and Becci Burling added a career-high 11 blocks to lead Duke to a 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 15-12) win over Wisconsin in the Blue Devils' season-opening match at the InnTower Invitational Friday evening at the UW Field House.

Facing elimination after dropping sets two and three, the Blue Devils (1-0, 0-0 ACC) bounced back to win the fourth set by 10 points to force a winner-take-all set five. Moss, Dunworth and Burling continued their strong play into the final frame with Burling making six blocks - including the final two points - to lock up the win in front of a Wisconsin home crowd of 3,244.

"The support was coming from all over - from the sidelines, from the court," Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. Everyone was in the moment and that really helped us be able to make the next play each time we needed to, especially in game five when it was neck-and-neck the whole way."

Duke got a career-best defensive performance out of Burling, who racked up a career-high 11 blocks, including the difference-making six in the final set. Three of Burling's blocks were solo stops, accounting for the majority of Duke's 17 blocks in the five-set affair. With Burling guarding the net, Duke held Wisconsin (0-1) to a .139 hitting percentage thanks also to Dunworth and setter Kellie Catanach, who chipped in five stops apiece, and three other Blue Devils who recorded multiple blocks. That group's 17 blocks were the most by a Duke team since Nov. 23, 2005 when the Blue Devils blocked 19.

What few attacks got past the net were picked up by junior libero Claire Smalzer, who collected 14 digs. Smalzer was even more effective in the serving game where she put down a team-high three service aces without making a single service error.

While Moss and Dunworth got the majority of the kills, Catanach distributed the ball evenly, chalking up 43 assists and letting four different teammates surpass 20 attacks. Catanach saw over 40 percent of her sets go down for kills, thanks also to a 7-for-9 showing from freshman Christiana Gray and a 9-for-27 outing from sophomore Amanda Robertson.

"This was a great win for us because it was in such a great environment in a great volleyball community," Nagel said. "It was just a really fun college volleyball match.

"Both teams played hard and both teams did some really good things. I was pleased with our team's effort, their composure and how they just kept fighting out there. They really worked together out there as a team."

Wisconsin got most of its offensive production from Allison Wack, who contributed 20 kills on 57 attacks, and Kirby Toon, who put down 19 at a .333 clip. The Badgers struggled to find a rhythm, however, and failed to hit over .175 in any set.

Moss and Dunworth came up big in the first set, combining for 10 kills in a 25-23 win. Duke fell behind by as much as 10 points early in the first set, but overcame a 12-2 deficit to bring the opener back within reach at 16-15 in favor of the Badgers. Duke's 13-4 run was fueled by four kills from Moss and two more points from Burling - one on a solo block and the other from a service ace - along with three Wisconsin attack errors. Still trailing, however, Duke was running out of points when Wisconsin went ahead 22-19 on a kill from Elle Ohlander. But another kill from Moss swung the momentum back in Duke's favor, and after two more Wisconsin attack errors, Moss put the Blue Devils ahead for the first time with her first service ace of the match. Leading 23-22, Dunworth finished the job with consecutive kills, both on assists from Catanach who had 12 in the opening set.

The Blue Devils held the momentum early in the second set, saw their offense idle just long enough to allow Wisconsin to come from behind for a 25-23 set two win. After battling to six ties, Duke regained a slight lead after Moss put her team back on top with another kill, but could not break away and eventually allowed Wisconsin to tie it once more at 22-22. After another kill from Burling put Duke within two points of clinching the set, the Badgers got a well-timed kill from Wack and a service ace from Ohlander to go on top 24-23. From there, all it took was one last kill from Caity DuPont to clinch the 25-23 Wisconsin victory and tie the match at one set apiece.

After putting back just two blocks in the first two sets, Wisconsin turned up the defense at the net and stopped four Duke attacks in the third set. The effort was enough to throw off Duke's rhythm, as the Blue Devils hit just .049 and fell 25-22 to fall behind two sets to one. The defense was strong on both sides, however, as Wisconsin hit under .200 for the third time, but still managed to squeak out the three-point win. Wack and Toon combined for nine of Wisconsin's 13 kills, while libero Kim Kuzma picked up nine digs.

Duke, however, was far from done and bounced back in commanding fashion to steamroll the Badgers 25-15 in set four. An all-around effort that featured a .500 team-hitting percentage, just one attack error and four blocks fueled the rally, which tied the match at two sets apiece. Robertson, Moss and Dunworth each contributed three kills without making an error, while Burling put back two more blocks to help hold the Badgers to a .105 hitting percentage in the fourth frame.

But while Burling had been productive with five blocks in the first four sets, she dominated the net and collected six more in the fifth set alone, leading Duke to the fifth-set win and bringing her total to a career-high 11 in the process. Her final two stops - one alongside Catanach and the other with Moss - gave the Blue Devils the last two points they needed to take home the win.

"This was a great challenge for our team," Nagel said. "I love the way the team embraced it, and I hope we can build from there."

Duke will continue its play at the InnTower Invitational on the campus of Wisconsin on Saturday, August 29, with two matches. The first begins at 11 a.m. EST against South Dakota, and the nightcap will begin at 7 p.m. EST against Ohio.

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