Duke Soars Past American in First Round

Lincoln ?A dual attack from Sarah Salem and Carrie DeMange lead Duke University (24-7) to a 3-0 (30-14, 30-16, 30-16) win over American University (25-10) and secured the Blue Devils a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

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American’s Tealle Hunkus opened the first game with a service ace, one of few bright spots for the Eagles as Duke rolled in game one. Duke followed with an 8-0 run highlighted by kills from four different players.

 

Leading 15-6, DeMange and Salem each snagged two kills during a 7-1 run to put the game away for good as American never got within 13 points. American’s Cutrina Biddulph led the Eagles with four kills on .500 hitting in the game, while Duke’s DeMange finished with four kills on .600 hitting while also snagging three blocks.

 

Duke came out flying again in game two with an 8-2 run, as its depth proved to be too much for the Eagles with the first four kills again coming from four different players. DeMange led the Blue Devil attack in game two with five kills, three digs and a block on .636 hitting.

 

American pulled to within 13-11 led by two kills from Elizabeth Maloney before Duke responded with an 8-1 run led by two kills from <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Salem that put the Blue Devils ahead 21-12. Following that run, American never got closer than within 10 points.

 

Duke wrapped up the match with the same dominance in game three as Salem led the attack with six kills and five digs on .857 hitting. Salem snagged four kills in her first four efforts as the Blue Devils opened with a 9-3 run. Biddulph’s effort of four kills on .308 hitting was not enough to spark an American comeback.

 

Salem led Duke’s hitting effort with 14 kills while also picking up seven digs and one block on .684 hitting. DeMange and Tealle Hunkus rounded out the Blue Devil effort of double-figures, snagging 12 and 11 kills, respectively. The duo was also both one point short of a double-double as they each grabbed nine digs.

 

Biddulph was the bright spot for the Eagles as she finished with nine kills and two blocks, while Duke held five American players to negative hitting.

 

The Blue Devils finished today’s match with a season-high hitting percentage of .494. Their previous best was a .352 mark on Sept. 30 against NC State.

 

American entered today’s match hitting .274, while Duke held the team to just .075 hitting, including -.080 hitting in the first game.

 

The loss to Duke is American’s second loss in 15 matches. This is the fifth straight year and seventh time in school history American has played in the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are 0-8 all-time in the tournament.

 

Duke has now won 13 of its last 14 matches, including nine straight, and is 4-1 in neutral arenas and 7-6 on the road. The win improves the Blue Devils to a 6-10 mark in the NCAA Tournament.

 

Duke advances to play the winner of the Nebraska-Alabama A&M match tomorrow at 7 p.m.