Up one set against nonconference foe Colorado State and locked in a competitive fourth set, senior Rachael Moss stepped up to the service line to try to extend Duke’s slim lead.
Moss brought the crowd to its feet immediately—she hit three aces, then three more points on serve to break the match open.
Behind Moss’s performance, Duke (6-1) won its home opener, beating a resilient Rams team 3-1 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“I’m proud of our team for hanging tough to get this win,” head coach Jolene Nagel said. “After coming back to win the third, I was worried they would lose it, but I just told the girls not to waste it.”
The Blue Devils were led by strong play from Moss and junior Becci Burling, who totaled 13 kills each throughout the four-set match. Setter Kellie Catanach, who had 43 assists, helped the team overcome a strong Colorado State net and defensive game.
Duke opened strongly and raced to a 6-1 lead to open the game, forcing Colorado State (4-3) to call a timeout.
However, as was to be the story of the night, the Rams fought back and eventually tied the score at 10-10.
The Blue Devils would hold their ground, though, and Duke wrapped up the first set 25-20. Despite the set win, though, Duke failed to record a single block in the set.
The Blue Devils recorded their first and only block early in the second set, but could not build a lead.
The Rams chased after every shot, tying the game a total of eight times in the second set. As the set went on, Duke’s play deteriorated, especially in the attack, where the Blue Devils tallied more errors than kills in the set.
The Rams went on to take the second, 25-21. In the first set, in contrast, Duke had 15 kills to only three errors.
The final two sets saw a very different Duke team, with more confidence in its play. The Blue Devils’ attack game became stronger, running combinations to penetrate the battling Rams’ defense.
After winning the third set 25-21, Duke’s momentum flowed into the fourth and final set.
In the fourth, the Blue Devils showed their true game, building a lead they would not relinquish. Moss played her part with six straight service points, including three consecutive service aces. The Blue Devils took this set convincingly, 25-13, to earn the victory.
“I was angry,” Moss said. “On the serve I just threw the ball up and hit it as hard as I could.”
The Blue Devils are gearing up for the Duke Invitational this weekend in Cameron, where one of the teams competing will be two-time defending national champions and current No.1 Penn State. Duke also faces Loyola (Md.) and College of Charleston.
Nagel, though, isn’t thinking about Penn State just yet.
“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” she said.
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