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6 PM
Volleyball
at Syracuse
Friday, September 3
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
8:00 p.m.
Duke University
3
at
1
Middle Tennessee State
Duke Defense Stifles Middle Tennessee in 3-1 Victory
9/3/2010 9:29:00 PM | Volleyball
DURHAM, N.C. - Amanda Robertson and Sophia Dunworth combined for 24 kills and Duke totaled a season-high 15 blocks to cruise past Middle Tennessee 3-1 (25-14, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20) at the Blue Raider Bash on Friday evening in Alumni Memorial Gym.
Robertson hit .533 with 10 kills while Dunworth finished with 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Their performance, along with 35 assists and six kills from All-ACC setter Kellie Catanach, led Duke (3-1) to a season-high .303 hitting percentage for the match.
"This was a great win for us tonight as a team," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "Middle Tennessee is a really good team. They're very fast and very physical, and we needed to be very aggressive to come away with a win."
For the third time this season, the Blue Devils held their opponent to a sub-.200 hitting percentage as Middle Tennessee managed only a .153 clip. The blocking of senior Becci Burling, who posted nine of Duke's 15 blocks, was key in the defensive showing as Middle Tennessee managed to hit over .175 in just one game. Catanach also matched a career high with seven blocks while sophomore middle blocker Christiana Gray totaled six and Robertson and senior Claire Smalzer each posted multiple stops.
"We really worked together as a team out there and gutted out a lot of points on long rallies," Nagel said. "There were times when we weren't necessarily in system, but still able to win a few points. That was a huge factor as we continued throughout the match. I'm really proud of how we played tonight and how everyone handled the environment. The crowd really didn't affect them, and they were able to win those long points when everything wasn't perfect."
Duke also held an advantage in the serving game, making only five errors on 95 attempts. Rookie libero Ali McCurdy, who also recorded double-digit digs for the third straight match, added her first career service ace in the win while Catanach dropped in a pair of aces.
The Blue Devils will continue play at the Blue Raider Bash on Saturday with bouts against Auburn at noon (EST) and against Georgia Southern at 4 p.m. (GST).
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Players Mentioned
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