Moss Leads Duke to 3-1 Win Over Wake Forest

Tuesday, November 24

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Wake Forest

Moss Leads Duke to 3-1 Win Over Wake Forest

11/24/2009 9:00:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. - Rachael Moss put down 21 kills on a .432 hitting percentage and recorded her 13th double-double of the season to lead Duke to a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-18) win over Wake Forest in the Blue Devils' season finale Tuesday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Moss, who was named a First Team Academic All-America one day before the match, collected 13 digs and added a career-high five blocks in her final match in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The senior outside hitter made just two errors on a team-high 44 attacks and moved into third place on Duke's all-time kills list with 1,674 career kills.

The Blue Devils (27-5, 17-3 ACC) wrapped up the season as the ACC's best defensive team, holding Wake Forest (11-20, 9-11 ACC) to a .157 hitting percentage. Duke held opponents to a .156 hitting percentage on the year with the Demon Deacons becoming Duke's 26^th victim held to under a .200 hitting percentage. Led by 23 digs from libero Claire Smalzer, Duke surrendered just 52 kills to Wake Forest while forcing 24 attack errors.

Also key in the defensive effort was 11.5 team blocks from the Blue Devils. Six of those came from freshman Christiana Gray, who finished with 110 for the regular season. Moss and junior Becci Burling also worked their way in on five stops.

Duke hit .265 as a team with just 21 attack errors, thanks to a 48-assist showing from sophomore setter Kellie Catanach. Catanach surpassed 1,200 assists for the second straight season with the performance and was just one dig shy of recording a double-double.

Wake Forest took the opening set 25-22, but combined to hit just .135 over the remaining three sets, all losses. Duke had trouble stopping middle blocker Carlin Salmon, who hit .304 with a team-high 12 kills and eight blocks, but held the rest of the Wake Forest lineup to a .135 clip. Duke kept Demon Deacon libero Megan Thornberry busy, as she finished with a match-high 26 digs.

Wake Forest outside hitter Kadija Fornah opened the match by hitting .625 in the opener with five kills, which was good enough to give Wake Forest a 25-22 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. The Deacs stunned the Blue Devils by jumping out to a 15-10 lead that was fueled by four blocks, including three from Salmon. Duke rallied after a timeout for three straight points to cut the deficit to 15-13, but the Demon Deacons then rebuilt their five-point lead at 20-15. Duke battled back once more to come within two points at 24-22, but could not hold off Wake Forest, which got a game-winning kill from Fornah.

Duke came back with a vengeance in the second set, posting 5.5 blocks and a .333 team hitting percentage to tie the match with a 25-17 victory. Wake Forest had no answer for Burling, who connected on four of her six attacks along with three blocks. Moss also contributed two kills and a pair of blocks, while Catanach dished out 13 assists and also picked up two blocks. Duke jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the second frame and rode that cushion all the way to the win. Duke led by as much as nine points.

Wake Forest was not deterred by the second-game win, however, and opened game three with five straight points. Duke, however, got seven kills from freshman Megan Hendrickson to overcome the early deficit and win the third set 25-23. The Blue Devils quickly rallied into Wake Forest's opening 5-0 run and eventually tied the score at 12-12, but still had their work cut out for them. The Demon Deacons did not let Duke back out in front until Moss put the Blue Devils on top 19-18 with her fourth kill of the set. From there, Wake Forest regained the lead once more before the Blue Devils broke a 23-23 tie with a kill from Sophia Dunworth and a joint block from Gray and Catanach.

Moss, who was just one dig shy of a double-double after the first three sets, took over in the final game and delivered seven kills on 15 attacks to lock up a 25-18 win and the match for Duke. She also nabbed her 13th double-double of the year with four digs as part of a defensive effort that saw the Blue Devils hold Wake Forest to under .200 hitting for the third straight game. Smalzer also chipped in six digs and two service aces, giving her a team-leading 38 on the year. Duke built a 15-8 lead in the first half of set four, but gave way to six consecutive Wake Forest points that cut the advantage to 15-14. The Blue Devils quickly returned the favor, however, and scored seven straight to run their lead back to 23-16. From there, Moss put down Duke's last two kills to key the win.

The win over the Demon Deacons marks the end of the regular season for the Blue Devils, who will now await their NCAA Postseason assignment. The 2009 NCAA Volleyball Selection Show will air on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 3 p.m. on ESPNews. Duke has made the NCAA Tournament for four consecutive seasons.

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