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6:30 PM
Volleyball
vs #8 Louisville
Saturday, September 12
Durham, N.C.
10:00 a.m.
Duke University
3
vs
0
Loyola (Md.)
Duke Smothers Loyola in Three Set Win
9/12/2009 12:15:00 PM | Volleyball
DURHAM, N.C. - Led by a 16-dig effort from freshman Nailah Waterfield and a 12-dig performance from libero Claire Smalzer, Duke stifled Loyola's attack en route to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-20) win over the Greyhounds on day two of the Duke Invitational in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Waterfield surpassed her previous career-high of eight digs midway through the second set, collecting 13 in the second frame alone. Smalzer, meanwhile, reached double figures in the category for the fourth straight game to help hold Loyola to a sub-.200 clip in every set.
With Loyola's offense held in check Duke (8-1, 0-0) hit .368 behind a 28-assist performance from sophomore setter Kellie Catanch. Catanach had over 48 percent of her sets hit Loyola's side of the court while Duke committed just six attack errors in 95 attempts as a team. Senior Juliana Traut led the way with seven kills and no errors for a .583 hitting percentage, while freshmen Christiana Gray finished 6-for-8 and Megan Hendrickson went 5-for-10.
Duke also dropped in seven service aces, including three from Smalzer, two from Moss and one each from Waterfield and junior Alex Sall.
Nina Camaioni was the only Greyhound to hit over .300, finishing 12-for-29 for a .318 clip. Libero Brittany Born picked up 16 digs, but could do little else to slow down Duke's fast-paced offense.
The Blue Devils made just one attack error in the opening set to take game one 25-11. Catanach guided the team to a .433 hitting percentage, collecting 11 assists in 21 attempts. Dunworth, Gray and Moss combined for nine kills on 14 attacks, while Smalzer picked up five digs to help hold the Greyhounds to a -.054 clip. Duke broke the game open with a 15-4 rally that ran the score to 20-9 and prompted a Loyola timeout. The break did little to stop Duke' s momentum, however, as Brittany Staffeil and Megan Hendrickson put down two more kills as part of a set-ending 5-1 run.
Loyola turned up the defensive pressure in the second set and held Duke to a .250 clip, but could not keep up on their end and fell 25-18. Led by 13 digs from Waterfield, Duke held the Greyhounds to a .152 clip and allowed just eight of 33 attacks to hit the court. Smalzer dropped in three service aces during the set, two of which came during a 9-0 Duke run that left the Blue Devils ahead 11-3. Duke cruised to the victory and managed to use 12 different players in the second frame, including Hendrickson (2-for-3), Traut (2-for-5) and Christian Falcone (three assists, one dig).
Duke was even better offensively in the final set, finishing strong with a .480 clip thanks to a 5-for-7 performance from Traut and a 3-for-4 outing from Staffeil. The senior duo combined for a .727 hitting percentage with no errors in the 25-20 match-clinching win. Smalzer kept frustrating Loyola's attackers, collecting five digs to hold the Greyhounds to a .129 clip.
Next up for Duke is a 7 p.m. showdown against No. 1 Penn State.
Players Mentioned
MB
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DS/L
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