Nagel wins 400th career match

Duke cruised to victory at the Charleston Invitational in Charleston, S.C. Friday and Saturday, giving head coach Jolene Nagel her 400th career win.

The Blue Devils (9-3) topped the College of Charleston Friday, and then took down Delaware and Gardner-Webb Saturday to take the tournament and get their coach to her milestone win. Nagel became the 47th coach to reach the 400-win mark with Duke's 3-1 win over Delaware.

"I've been really lucky to have the opportunity to coach at such highly-regarded institutions that have allowed me to coach the brightest and the best," Nagel said.

Freshman setter Kellie Catanach led Duke with 45 assists and six kills in the first round against the College of Charleston. The Blue Devils swept the Cougars Friday night, 3-0.

A tough Delaware team took an early lead against the Blue Devils in the second round of the tournament, winning the only set against Duke, 25-23. Led by a spectacular defensive performance and by sophomore middle blocker Becci Burling, the Blue Devils were able to rebound from the early loss and win the next three sets.

"We didn't feel too much pressure after losing the first set," said Burling, who posted a career-high nine blocks. "We were relaxed and composed about the whole situation, especially since we knew we shouldn't have lost.... We worked on blocking a lot in practice this last week and it really showed with everyone, not just me."

The final Saturday night proved less problematic for the Blue Devils, as they cruised to their second 3-0 sweep of the tournament, this time over Gardner-Webb.

"This was a challenging tournament with quality competition," Nagel said. "There were three teams from last year's NCAA tournament, so we are really proud of this victory."