Duke Wins Thriller Against Virginia Tech, 3-2

Sunday, October 11

Blacksburg, Va.

1 p.m.

Duke University

12-4,4-2ACC

Virginia Tech

4-11,1-5ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Duke	25	19	18	25	15	3
Virginia Tech	16	25	25	23	11	2

Ashby Zubchevich Serves in Duke's Match Against North Carolina Central

Duke Wins Thriller Against Virginia Tech, 3-2

10/11/2026 4:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Duke volleyball battled all afternoon, as it claimed its third consecutive match with a 3-2 win (25-16, 19-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-11) over Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon inside Cassell Coliseum.

With the victory, Duke (12-4, 4-2 ACC) has its first ACC weekend sweep since Sept. 27-29, 2024, after it defeated Virginia on Friday night. The Blue Devils three-match ACC winning streak is their longest since the 2023 season.

It was another dominant showing from Ashby Zubchevich, who finished with a match-high 19 kills. In the two games this week, she finished with 40 total kills. She also tallied 10 digs to complete the double-double, her seventh of the season.

Joining Zubchevich in double-digit kills was Nataly Moravec, who finished with 13. Duke also got strong performances from Zoe Gillen-Malveaux (8 kills), Breonna Goss (7 kills) and Avery Hamlin (6 kills). As a team, the Blue Devils finished the afternoon with a .159 hitting percentage. Duke struggled in the middle sets but hit .312 to open the match and .450 in the final set.

Nikki Quinn dished out 41 assists while recording a pair of kills. The Del Mar, California, native also recorded a career-high 15 digs to lead Duke. The performance marks Quinn's second double-double in as many games and her third of the season.

Duke held the Virginia Tech (4-11, 1-5 ACC) offense in check, as the Hokies hit .162. Mailinh Godschall (14) and Hamlin (13) joined Zubchevich and Quinn with 10-plus digs. The Hokies did not hit above .267 in any of the five sets.

Reese Hazelton led Virginia Tech with 15 kills.

How it Happened
Set 1 – Duke 25, Virginia Tech 16

Duke got off to an impressive start, quickly jumping ahead 10-3 and forcing a Hokie timeout. Gillen-Malveaux and Zubchevich each recorded a pair of kills during that stretch.
Virginia Tech was able to close the deficit slightly going into the media timeout, but still trailed by six, 15-9. The Blue Devils led by six or more the rest of the set. An attack error Virginia Tech gave Duke the early 1-0 lead match lead.
Duke hit an efficient .290 in the set, while holding Virginia Tech to .094.

Set 2 – Virginia Tech 25, Duke 19

Tied at 5-5 through the opening 10 points, Virginia Tech went on a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead and only extended its advantage from there. Going into the media timeout, Duke found itself behind 15-8.
The Blue Devils were able to get it within four – 23-19 – but never closer than that. Duke hit .030 in the set. On the other side, Viriginia Tech hit .150.

Set 3 – Virginia Tech 25, Duke 18

It was another slow start to the set for Duke, which dropped six of the first seven points. The Blue Devils were able to rebound though, winning 11 of the next 20 points to cut their deficit to 15-12 at the media timeout.
Coming out of the break, Virginia Tech went on a 4-1 run to push its lead to 19-13. The Blue Devils got within four, but never closer as the Hokies closed the set on a kill. Duke hit just .029, while Virginia Tech had four blocks in the frame.

Set 4 – Duke 25, Virginia Tech 23

The Hokies, for the third set in a row, got off to a strong start and built up a quick 9-5 lead. Duke was able to get within three at the media timeout, trailing 15-12.
Virginia Tech came out of the break on fire, going on a 4-1 run to take a 19-13 lead. Duke responded with an 8-1 run to lead 21-20.
On Duke's second set point, Zubchevich recorded her 18^th kill to send the match to a fifth and final set. In the frame, Duke hit .132 while holding Virginia Tech to .122.

Set 5 – Duke 15, Virginia Tech 11

Virginia Tech won the opening two points of the set before Duke evened things up at 3-3. The two sides continued trading points, and with the score tied at 6-6, the Blue Devils went on a 4-1 run to take a 10-7 lead and force a Hokies timeout. During that stretch, Zubchevich recorded three straight kills.
Duke led the rest of the way and closed out the match victory with a kill by Moravec from the left pin.

By the Numbers

Duke finished the match with 58 kills compared to Virginia Tech's 53. The Blue Devils also won the passing battle with 53 assists, while the Hokies had 48.
Duke won the dig battle 66-56, while Virginia Tech led in blocks 11-6.
This weekend was the first time since 2022 that Duke has won back-to-back five set matches.
Duke moves to 37-7 all-time against Virginia Tech.

Up Next
Duke remains on the road next week, traveling to No. 3 Louisville on Friday and Notre Dame on Sunday. Both matches will be streamed on ACC Network Extra, with live stats available at GoDuke.com.

#GoDuke