Duke Defense Too Much for Virginia

Friday, November 4

Durham, N.C.

7:00 PM

Duke University

Virginia

Duke Defense Too Much for Virginia

11/4/2011 9:23:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - Ali McCurdy picked up 33 digs and the Duke defense posted nine blocks in a stifling defensive effort that saw the Blue Devils take down Virginia 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-9) on Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (16-7, 10-4 ACC) held the Cavaliers to a .087 hitting percentage thanks to McCurdy's floor defense and the blocking of All-American setter Kellie Catanach, All-ACC middle blocker Christiana Gray and sophomore middle Chelsea Cook. Catanach had a season-high six blocks, Gray put back five and Cook matched a career high with four stops.

McCurdy reached the 30-dig mark for the fourth time this season and increased her ACC-leading dig total to 499 on the season. The 5-7 sophomore, who was honored before the match for earning her 1,000^th career dig, ranks among the top 10 in the country in digs per set, currently holds the school record for career digs per set and is the fastest player in Duke volleyball history to reach 1,000 digs.

"It took us a little while to get into rhythm tonight, but it was exciting to see us make the adjustments we needed to in order to come away with a win," Duke head coach Jolene Nagel said. "At the beginning of the match, we weren't being aggressive, but once we started doing a better job of that I thought we played much better."

Catanach reached a dig milestone of her own against Virginia, collecting her 1,000^th career dig with a double-double effort that included 44 assists and 14 digs. The reigning ACC Player of the Year, Catanach is the 21^st player in school history to record 1,000 digs and is on the verge of jumping into second place on Duke's all-time assists list. She is only the third player to reach 5,000 assists and 1,000 digs.

The turning point for Duke came in game two when the Blue Devils opened a 6-0 run that broke an 18-18 tie that put them within one point of winning the match. Virginia came out with a strong defensive effort in game one and held Duke to a .064 hitting percentage en route to a 25-19 win. The Cavaliers held that momentum until late in game two when a kill from Gray sparked six straight points that put Duke ahead 24-18. Cook and Catanach teamed up for back-to-back blocks during that run before Cook ended that set with a kill.

"I thought we served well tonight," Nagel said. "We gave ourselves opportunities early on in the match, but we were on our heels. I think we made that change going into games two, three and four and played much better from that point on."

Gray and seniors Sophia Dunworth and Amanda Robertson were key to the offensive turnaround as Gray .412 over the last three sets, Dunworth pounded 12 of her team-leading 15 kills and Robertson had at least three kills in every set during that run. Juniors Megan Hendrickson and Nailah Waterfield also came on strong down the stretch with tough serving and solid passing to help the Blue Devils win their 21^st consecutive ACC match inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. McCurdy, Hendrickson and Waterfield combined for all eight of Duke's service aces and fronted a strong serve receive that allowed just two aces the entire night.

Duke continues its weekend homestand on Saturday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Virginia Tech in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils will hold a silent auction before and during the match to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis research. Fans at the match can bid on autographed items as well as Duke volleyball gear and a one-on-one lesson with former Blue Devil Christina Falcone (excludes current high school students).

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