Kellie Catanach became just the third player in Duke history to hit the 5,000 assist mark, piling up 83 total in the Blue Devils’ road games against Clemson and Georgia Tech.
The Tigers (16-8, 8-5 in the ACC) swept Duke 3-0 Friday night, but the Blue Devils (15-7, 9-4) rebounded Sunday to beat the Yellow Jackets 3-1.
“I honestly had no idea I was that close to 5,000 until after the match,” Catanach said. “It is a huge honor to be up there with some great Duke players and to have my name in Duke history.”
Catanach, a senior, entered Friday’s match 75 assists shy of the benchmark. Although she recorded 39 assists, along with 12 digs, Clemson ended Duke’s six-game win-streak by capitalizing on the Blue Devils’ early hitting errors. Two of the top middle blockers in the league—the Tigers’ Sandra Adeleye and Duke’s Christiana Gray—knocked down 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Sophomore libero Ali McCurdy recorded 17 digs, extending her career total past 1,000. Despite the loss, head coach Jolene Nagel was proud of her team’s quick turnaround for Sunday’s game.
“We are a team that wants to excel and wants to be successful,” Nagel said.
“After some soul searching and some discussions, I think the team responded positively to their performance on Friday night and it took a big effort by everyone to move on.”
The Blue Devils came out on top against Georgia Tech (13-11, 6-7) Sunday as Catanach recorded 44 assists, reaching 5,008 in her career. Sophia Dunworth and Gray dominated at the net, amassing 28 combined kills. Dunworth moved into 10th place on Duke’s all-time kills list.
“We really had to dig deep and find a way to turn ourselves around after Friday night and we did a good job of keeping up our intensity and going after it against Georgia Tech,” Catanach said.
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