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Saturday, September 4
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
12:00 p.m.
Duke University
3
vs
0
Auburn
Blue Devils Take Down Auburn & Georgia Southern
9/4/2010 2:35:00 PM | Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Sophia Dunworth and Becci Burling combined for 55 kills, and Ali McCurdy posted consecutive 20-dig performances to lead Duke to a pair of wins at the Blue Raider Bash on Saturday, sweeping Auburn 3-0 and edging Georgia Southern 3-2 in the Murphy Center.
Dunworth hit .295 on the day with double-digit kills in both wins, while Burling hit .277 with 14 kills in the five-set win over Georgia Southern. McCurdy, meanwhile, carried the Duke defense with 20 digs against Auburn and 22 more against Georgia Southern.
The Blue Devils (5-1) held both teams to a combined .206 hitting percentage to win their fourth and fifth consecutive matches. Duke swept all three teams at the Blue Raider Bash, including host Middle Tennessee which Duke took down 3-1 on Friday.
In the win over Georgia Southern, Dunworth posted 11 kills, including six in set three, to lead the Blue Devils to their first 3-0 sweep of the year. Dunworth hit .321 with only two attack errors while McCurdy reached 20 digs for the second time on the season.
McCurdy also helped out in the serving game, collecting a team-high 20 serve receptions as Duke made only three receiving errors for the entire match. On the other end, the Blue Devils (4-1) dropped in eight aces, including four from senior outside hitter Claire Smalzer, to win their fourth straight match.
Offensively, All-ACC setter Kellie Catanach dished out 36 assists and went 3-for-7 attacking for a .429 hitting percentage. With Catanach leading the way, Duke posted 44 kills with sophomore Christiana Gray adding eight kills on a .429 hitting percentage. Becci Burling also had eight kills while junior Amanda Robertson added seven.
"We had a slow start, which we definitely don't want, but everyone still did a great job maintaining their composure for the entire match," head coach Jolene Nagel said. "I thought things really turned around when we started serving more aggressively.
In the 3-2 victory over Georgia Southern, Burling came through with 14 kills while Dunworth and sophomore Megan Hendrickson each added 12 kills. Hendrickson was flawless in a 25-15 second-set win, posting six kills on 10 errorless attacks.
McCurdy also collected 22 digs, while Smalzer chipped in 15 and Catanach recorded a double-double with 11 digs and 43 assists. Duke's strong serving also continued as the Blue Devil posted eight aces with two each from McCurdy, Dunworth and Catanach.
After dropping the opening game to Georgia Southern, Duke stormed back to win games two and three in commanding fashion, winning 25-15 and 25-16. The Eagles answered, however, and squeaked out a 26-24 fourth-set win to fight off elimination and force a deciding game five. The Blue Devils locked in at the right time, however, and posted a .467 hitting percentage in the final frame while holding Georgia Southern to a .176 clip.
Duke will then return to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, Sept. 7, for a non-conference bout against Charlotte at 7 p.m. That rare midweek meeting precedes the annual Duke Invitational Tournament, which will feature Duke, No. 8 Minnesota, Delaware and N.C. Central on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11 in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Admission is free to all matches.
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Players Mentioned
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