Duke Falls 3-1 to No. 24 Tennessee in NCAA Tourney

Friday, December 4

Knoxville, Tenn.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

Tennessee

Duke Falls 3-1 to No. 24 Tennessee in NCAA Tourney

12/4/2009 7:00:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Nikki Fowler and Kayla Jeter combined for 35 of Tennessee's 54 kills to lead the 24^th-ranked Volunteers to a 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 25-12) first-round victory over Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Thompson-Boling Arena.

Jeter led the team with 18 kills, while Fowler put down 17 and also recorded a double-double with 12 digs. Those two were part of a Tennessee (24-7) team that posted 17.5 blocks and hit .270 against a Duke squad that came in holding opponents to an ACC-low .156 hitting percentage.

Tennessee middle blocker Leah Hinkey dominated the nets with 10 blocks, seven kills and a .357 hitting percentage, while Fowler also put back seven blocks. Duke (27-6) struggled to get anything past the Volunteer front, hitting .146. Tennessee libero Chloe Goldman also gave Duke trouble, collecting 20 digs without a single receiving error.

Tennessee opened by winning the first two sets, but could not stop Duke from winning game three 25-17. Duke ended that game with a 9-1 rally - their biggest run of the night - before the Volunteers came out in the fourth set and put the match away with a 25-12 victory.

Senior Rachael Moss and junior Becci Burling provided the bulk of Duke's offense with 12 kills apiece, while setter Kellie Catanach dished out 45 assists and four kills. Burling led the way with a .321 hitting percentage, making just three errors while also racking up five blocks. Moss, meanwhile, recorded her 14^th double-double of the season with 13 digs, giving the 5-10 outside hitter 69 double-doubles in her four-year career.

Moss leaves Duke as one of the most decorated players in school history, finishing third at Duke in kills, fourth in digs and fourth in service aces. Also a first team Academic All-America, she became only the third Blue Devil in school history to earn All-ACC honors four times and the first to earn a spot on the Academic All-America first team.

Defensively, Duke libero Claire Smalzer did her best to limit the Tennessee offense and picked up 23 digs, including seven in Duke's 25-17 third-set victory. Smalzer also put down two service aces in that set, giving her a team-leading 40 at season's end. She was the only Blue Devil with a service ace in the match, however, as Tennessee - which gave up the fewest aces in the SEC - picked up all but two of Duke's 79 serves.

Led by a 7-for-14 effort from Jeter in the opening set, the Volunteers took game one 25-18. After falling behind by as much as five points, Duke mounted a late rally that trimmed the deficit to two points at 17-15, but then gave way to an 8-3 run that sewed up the opening win for Tennessee. The Vols picked up two of their last three points with blocks, both of which involved Fowler, to give them five stops in the set.

The second set featured a hard-fought battle that saw the lead change six times. Tennessee, however, came out on top 25-23 after overcoming a 21-18 deficit on the strength of a combined 10 kills from Jeter and Powe, who combined for just one attack error. Duke broke away late, breaking a 21-21 tie with consecutive kills from Christiana Gray and Burling to jump ahead 23-21, but then gave up consecutive points on a kill from Farren Powe and a block from Hinkey and Kylie Marshall to allow Tennessee back into the set. Tied at 23-23, Duke called a timeout, but Tennessee came out ready and forced two attack errors - including another block from Marshall and Hinkey - to wrap up the set and take a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Devils came back with a vengeance in the third game, however, and blew past Tennessee 25-17. Duke relied heavily on Burling, sending her eight attacks which she converted into five kills and a .625 hitting percentage for the match. She also put back five blocks, four of which came after Tennessee tied the score at 16-16. Her second block - alongside sophomore Sophia Dunworth - put Duke back on top 17-16 and sparked a 9-1 run that took Duke all the way to the third-set win.

Despite the lopsided third-set loss, however, Tennessee could do no wrong in the fourth set. The Vols broke out with a 16-4 lead to open the fourth set before Duke finally got back on track. By then, however, the deficit was too big to make up and Duke saw its 2009 season end with a 25-12 fourth-set loss. Tennessee hit .522 in the final game while piling up five more blocks.

The win propels the Volunteers into the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they will face No. 11 seed Minnesota, which defeated Louisville 3-1 in the first round.

With the loss, Duke finishes the 2009 season 27-6 overall for its fourth consecutive 25-win season. Duke's senior class leaves the Blue Devil volleyball program with a four-year record of 106-26, which is a school record.

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