Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus #4 Pitt on October 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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6:30 PM
Volleyball
vs #4 Pitt
Duke Hosts Virginia, Virginia Tech This Weekend
10/1/2009 8:30:00 PM | Volleyball
DURHAM,N.C. - Currently off to the second best start in school history, the Duke volleyball team will put a five-match winning streak on the line this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 2-3, against Virginia and Virginia Tech in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Along with the two home ACC matches, the Blue Devils (13-2, 3-0 ACC) will also hold a "Dig Pink" fundraiser to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness. Duke will do its part in the national fundraiser, held during the entire month of October, by selling long-sleeve T-shirts during the weekend's matches. The Blue Devils will also don the shirts during warm-ups.
More information about the Dig Pink fundraiser will be available at the Duke Promotions table during both matches.
With a 13-2 record and a 3-0 mark in the ACC, Duke has the second-best record through the first 15 matches in school history, matching marks set by the 1992, 2001 and 2006 volleyball teams. Duke has twice started 14-1, both of which were successive seasons in 1984 and 1985.
Duke's 13-2 record is the best in the ACC, leading nationally-ranked Florida State's 12-1 mark. At 3-0 in the conference, Duke joins the Seminoles and Georgia Tech as one of three undefeated teams in the conference. Duke has won nine straight sets against ACC teams to open the season with 3-0 sweeps over Wake Forest, Maryland and Boston College.
Duke's roster boasts the two most recent ACC Players of the Week in senior outside hitter Rachael Moss, who was honored on Sept. 28, and sophomore setter Kellie Catanach, who received the award on Sept. 21. Those two make up one of the top offensive units in the ACC and are similarly two of the best all-around players in the conference. Moss leads the team with six double-doubles, while Catanach leads the team with 529 assists, ranks third with 29 blocks and fifth with 74 digs.
Along with the play of Moss and Catanach, Duke possesses outstanding depth this season. In the middle, Duke boasts a three-player rotation that features junior Becci Burling, sophomore Amanda Robertson and freshman Christiana Gray. All three of those middles have put down at least 87 kills. including 133 from Burling. Gray, meanwhile, ranks eighth in the ACC with a .356 hitting percentage, while Robertson has already surpassed last season's totals with 95 kills and 27 blocks.
On the outside, Duke has a unit that features Moss, sophomore Sophia Dunworth, senior Brittany Staffeil and freshman Megan Hendrickson. Along with Moss' 112 kills, the 5-10 senior has also put down 14 service aces. Dunworth, meanwhile, leads Duke with 141 kills while Staffeil is hitting a career-best .303 and Hendrickson has contributed 53 kills.
Depth is also a strength defensively, as Duke has benefited not only from the play of junior libero Claire Smalzer, but also that of defensive specialists Nailah Waterfield and junior Alex Sall. Smalzer leads the team with 136 digs and 20 service aces, while Waterfield has also topped the 100-dig plateau this season. Sall has worked her way into the rotation and is averaging 1.19 digs per game through 27 sets.
Duke has won seven straight matches against Virginia and Virginia Tech, having not lost since 2005 when the Cavaliers and Hokies downed the Blue Devils in consecutive matches. Dating back to 2004, Duke has not lost a match to either team on its home court in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
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