Burling's 15 Kills Lead Blue Devils Past Cougars

Friday, September 11

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Duke University

College of Charleston

Burling's 15 Kills Lead Blue Devils Past Cougars

9/11/2009 9:30:00 PM | Volleyball

By: Duke Sports Information

Duke Invitational Tournament Central

DURHAM, N.C. - Becci Burling was near perfect, going 15-for-25 with just one attack error to lead Duke to a 3-1 (18-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-20) win over College of Charleston on the first day of the Duke Invitational Friday evening in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Burling, a 6-1 middle blocker, had at least three kills in each set and hit .560 in the four-game win, extending Duke's winning streak to five matches. The Blue Devils (6-1, 0-0 ACC) will now have a shot to clinch the Duke Invitational crown on Saturday with matches against Loyola (10 a.m.) and defending national champion No. 1 Penn State (7 p.m.).

Burling, who also had three of Duke's six blocks, was part of an offensive effort that saw three Blue Devils finish with double-digit kills. Sophomore setter Kellie Catanach directed the team with 50 assists and dished out 14 kills to sophomore Sophia Dunworth and 10 to senior Rachael Moss. Moss also collected 12 digs for her second straight double-double.

After losing the first set 25-18, Duke rebounded to win three straight games. Catanach sparked the second-game run with 13 assists in 26 attempts, good enough to lead the Blue Devils to a .433 hitting percentage in the 25-14 second-set win. Burling took over in the third set, finishing 5-for-7 without an error before Moss finished off the Cougars with four kills in the final set.

Duke also got a team-high 14 digs from libero Claire Smalzer, who reached double figures for the third straight match, and a career-high eight digs from freshman defensive specialist Nailah Waterfield.

The Blue Devils also dominated the serving game, putting down eight aces to College of Charleston's five. Catanch had three of those, while Moss and Waterfield had two each and Burling had one.

Duke had trouble getting anything to fall on the Cougars' side of the net in the opening set, hitting .057 in the opening 25-18 loss. College of Charleston countered by hitting .276 with just two attack errors thanks to a 3-for-3 effort from Chubb and errorless showings showings from Sarah Havel, Ginny Phillips and Cole Dawley. The Blue Devils could also not find an answer to College of Charleston's block and had five attacks put back on their side of the court. Burling did her best to pick up the slack, going 4-for-6 without an error, but could not pull the Blue Devils out of a seven-point hole.

Duke turned the tables in the second set and posted a .433 clip with just one attack error to tie the match with the 25-14 win. Catanach went to work and finished with 13 assists on 26 attempts, dishing out three kills apiece to Burling, Moss, Robertson and Dunworth. Duke also picked it up defensively, holding the Cougars to a .030 clip and no service aces. Duke opened the set with a 10-5 run and went on to score six straight points to take the set to 24-13 before Burling ended it with her seventh kill of the night.

The Blue Devils went to their big guns in the third set, getting five kills apiece from Burling and Dunworth, to take a 2-1 game lead with a 25-18 third-set win. Burling was 5-for-7 without an error, while Dunworth finished 5-for-10 and Gray went 4-for-6. Duke stifled the Cougar offense once again, holding it to a .111 clip on the strength of four blocks and 22 digs. Smalzer came up big with five digs, as did Moss and freshman Waterfield. College of Charleston staged a late rally to come within two points at 16-14, but the Blue Devils quickly got back on track and scored seven of their final nine points on kills - two from Burling, two from Gray and the final two in succession from Dunworth.

College of Charleston responded by nearly overtaking Duke to win the fourth set, but fell 25-20 when Duke grabbed hold of the final frame with a match-clinching 7-2 run. With the match tied at 18-18, Moss stole the momentum back for Duke with her fourth kill of the set to spark the Blue Devils' final run. Three of Duke's final points came from Gray, who chipped in two kills and a solo block, before Catanach ended the game with her third kill of the night, swapping places with Moss who got the assist.

Duke will continue play at the 12^th annual Duke Invitational with a 10 a.m. meeting against Loyola on Saturday followed by a 7 p.m. showdown with No. 1 Penn State.

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