Duke Drops Five-Set Battle to Virginia Tech 3-2

Thursday, November 13

Durham, N.C.

6:30 PM

Duke University

5-21,2-13ACC

Virginia Tech

11-15,3-12ACC

Virginia Tech

Duke

Duke Drops Five-Set Battle to Virginia Tech 3-2

11/13/2025 10:45:00 PM | Volleyball

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DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke volleyball team went back and forth with Virginia Tech Thursday night inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, rallying from a 2-1 match deficit to force a decisive fifth frame. In the race to 15, the Blue Devils and Hokies were tied eight times, including a 14-14 deadlock, before Virginia Tech ultimately secured a 3-2 (29-27, 18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 16-14) victory by claiming the final two points.

Offensively, the Blue Devils were paced by freshman Ashby Zubchevich with 19 kills and sophomore Taylor Williams followed with 18. Freshman Charlotte Glass facilitated the attack with 43 assists. Defensively, sophomore Avery Hamlin anchored the back row with 19 digs, while redshirt senior Ngozi Iloh led the effort at the net with 1.5 total blocks.

How It Happened

Set One – Duke 27, Virginia Tech 29

Virginia Tech took the first set with a 29-27 win in a frame that featured 17 ties and five lead changes. The Hokies pushed past a 20-20 lockup with two straight points, but the Blue Devils responded with a four-point surge to take a 24-22 lead. Virginia Tech secured three of the next four points to even the score at 25-25, then closed out the set with a 4-2 run.

Set Two – Duke 25, Virgina Tech 18

The Blue Devils snapped a 25-set losing streak with a 25-18 victory in set two. Virginia Tech held a 6-5 edge before Duke rattled off nine unanswered points, powered by four kills from Williams, to take a 14-6 lead. The Hokies trimmed the margin to 16-11 with a 5-2 push, but Duke answered by claiming four of the next five points. Virginia Tech made a late push with a 5-1 stretch, yet the Blue Devils closed out the frame by securing four of the final five points.

Set Three – Duke 22, Virginia Tech 25

Virginia Tech took the 2-1 match lead with a 25-22 win in the third set. The Hokies jumped out to a 15-5 lead, forcing Duke to burn both timeouts early. Virginia Tech stretched its advantage to 19-8 with a 4-3 burst before the Blue Devils stormed back. Duke made it a one-point set, 23-22, after mounting a 14-4 run fueled by two kills from Williams. However, the Hokies closed out the frame by taking the final two points.

Set Four – Duke 25, Virginia Tech 20

Duke extended the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set. After the frame was tied 5-5, the Blue Devils established a 13-9 lead with an 8-4 stretch sparked by a pair of Zubchevich putaways. Virginia Tech responded with four points while limiting Duke to three. The frame was back-and-forth, with Duke holding 22-19 lead, before the Blue Devils finished strong, taking three of the final four points to force a decisive fifth set.

Set Five – Duke 14, Virginia Tech 16

The match was decided in the Hokies' favor with a 16-14 win in the final frame. Virginia Tech opened with a 6-2 lead, but Duke battled back with a 5-1 spurt to tie it at 7-7. The Hokies grabbed a point, but the Blue Devils answered with a three-point rally to take a 10-8 edge. The set remained tight, tied at 14-14, until Virginia Tech secured back-to-back kills to close out the match.

Notes

Duke drops to a 5-21 overall ledger on the season and a 2-13 mark in conference play, while Virgina Tech improves to 11-15 overall and 3-10 in ACC action.
The Blue Devils competed in their second five-set match this season, dropping to a 0-2 record in those contests.
The Hokies cut Duke's all-time series lead, 35-7.
Duke held the 64-59 advantage in kills and hit behind a .202 attack percentage, while constricting the Hokies to a .139.
The Blue Devils totaled 99 digs, seeing six different Blue Devils log a double-digit mark – Zubchevich (11), Williams (16), Hamlin (19), Glass (16), junior Lauren Ingram (14) and sophomore Mailinh Godschall (18).
Glass recorded a career-best seven kills along with 16 digs, while Hamlin tallied a career-high 19 digs. Williams matched her personal best with 18 kills and added a career-high 16 digs.

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