Duke Takes Over First Place with 3-0 Sweep Versus UNC

Saturday, November 6

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6:00 p.m.

Duke University

North Carolina

Duke Takes Over First Place with 3-0 Sweep Versus UNC

11/6/2010 6:28:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a battle of the two teams tied for first place in the ACC, Kellie Catanach dished out 34 assists and eight kills to lead Duke to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-19) sweep over North Carolina on Saturday evening in Carmichael Arena. The win gives Duke sole possession of first place in the ACC with five conference matches remaining.

In only three sets, Catanach neared a triple double with seven digs while posting her career-high eight kills. The 6-foot-2 setter missed on only three of her 11 attacks and led the Blue Devils (21-4, 13-2 ACC) to a .342 hitting percentage against the ACC leader in opponent hitting percentage.

Under Catanach's direction, Duke converted over 40 percent of its attacks and made only nine attack errors. That performance came against a North Carolina team that entered the weekend holding opponents to conference-low .160 hitting percentage. Both Claire Smalzer and Amanda Robertson posted double-doubles with 11 kills apiece and each hit over .500 as Duke swept North Carolina for the second time this season.

The Tar Heels (21-7, 12-3 ACC) failed to reach 20 points in any set, marking the third time this season that the Blue Devils have held the opposition to under 20 points in every frame. Led by sophomore Christiana Gray's seven stops, Duke posted 10 blocks and held the Tar Heels to a .121 clip. North Carolina, also the ACC leader in kills and assists, could not get the ball past Robertson, Smalzer or Duke libero Ali McCurdy who picked up 18 digs.

“I'm really thrilled for this team that they were able to come out tonight and execute like they wanted to and play at the level that they competed,” Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. “Not only does this team have great leadership, but the entire group has excellent focus and understands what it takes in order to be successful out here on the court. We want to continue to get strong and get better, and I think this team can continue to do that because of their leadership, focus and maturity.”

The Blue Devils played aggressively from the opening serve and claimed an 11-point win in the first set. The Tar Heels had no answer for Duke's offense as the Blue Devils, led by an errorless 5-for-7 effort from Smalzer, hit .314 and connected on 14-of-35 attacks. Defensively, the Blue Devils held North Carolina to a .073 hitting percentage and kept the momentum from swaying over to the Tar Heels by siding out on 13 of North Carolina's 15 serves.

Smalzer and the Duke offense kept up the pace in set two, posting a .371 hitting percentage on the way to a 25-16 win. Robertson took over in that frame, connecting on 5-of-7 attacks while Sophia Dunworth also came through with four kill on nine errorless attempts. North Carolina hit into six attack errors – three of which were caused by blocks from Gray – as the Blue Devils staked an early 8-2 run on the way to the nine-point win.

North Carolina got back on track in game three and kept within two points early, but could not hold down the Blue Devil offense. After battling to a 12-10 lead, the Blue Devils opened it up and rattled off a 7-2 run that put the final set in their hands. From there, Duke used two kills each from Burling and one each from Smalzer, Robertson and Dunworth to end the match.

With only five games separating Duke from its 11th ACC Championship, the Blue Devils will play at Maryland and Boston College on Friday and Sunday, November 12-14. Duke will then host Virginia and Virginia Tech the following weekend before playing at Wake Forest on November 23 in the regular season finale.