Duke Falls to No. 15 Stanford, 3-1

Friday, October 23

Durham, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

13-6,5-4ACC

Stanford

13-6,6-3ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Stanford	26	25	21	31	3
Duke	24	22	25	29	1

Nikki Quinn, Olivia Wayne and Nataly Moravec prepare for a Stanford serve on Oct. 23.

10/23/2026 10:50:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

DURHAM, N.C. – Despite dropping the opening two sets, Duke volleyball battled back but came up just short on Friday night, falling to No. 15 Stanford 3-1 (24-26, 22-25, 25-21, 29-31) inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Duke (13-6, 5-4 ACC) had four set-point opportunities to send the match to a fifth set, but ultimately Stanford (13-6, 6-3 ACC) prevailed to win the match. The fourth set was the most combined points in a frame for Duke this season, and Friday marked the longest non-five-set match of the season for the Blue Devils.

Ashby Zubchevich had a career day, as led all players with 28 kills on .317 hitting. She added 13 digs – tying her career high – to record her eighth double-double of the year. Joining her with 20-plus kills was Nataly Moravec, who finished with 22 on .235 hitting. The graduate student also tied her career high with 18 digs for her sixth double-double this year.

The 50 combined kills between Zubchevich and Moravec are the most by a pair of Duke teammates this season. The pairing combined for 47 in the Blue Devils win over Notre Dame last Sunday.

As a team, Duke finished the night with 67 total kills on .258 hitting. Nikki Quinn dished out 52 assists. Friday is the third time this season she has recorded 50-plus assists and second time in as many games. On the other side of the court, Stanford had 69 kills on a .280 hitting clip. Julia Blyashov had 26 kills to lead the Cardinal.

Mailinh Godschall led Duke with 21 digs, marking her second consecutive game with 20 or more digs. Taylor Williams finished the night tying her career high with 16 digs. Breonna Goss led the Blue Devils with four blocks.

How it Happened
Set 1 – Stanford 26, Duke 24

After splitting the opening four points, the Cardinal went on a 5-0 run to jump ahead 7-2 and force a Duke timeout. The Blue Devils responded with a 7-0 run to take a 9-7 lead.
Leading 13-12, Duke scored four consecutive points and seemed to be in control of the first set. The Blue Devils continued playing clean volleyball and led 20-17, forcing a Stanford timeout after a kill by Zubchevich.
The Cardinal answered back and had things even at 21. The two sides would continue to trade points, and Duke had its first set-point opportunity, leading 24-23. Stanford, however, won the next three points to take an early 1-0 lead.
Duke hit an efficient .333 in the frame, but couldn't quite slow down the Stanford offense, which finished at .395. Zubchevich had eight kills on 12 swings to lead the Blue Devils.

Set 2 – Stanford 25, Duke 22

The Blue Devils got off to a good start, leading 5-3 through eight points. Stanford went on 3-0 run to jump ahead and the two sides, like in the first set, were neck and neck. Trailing 13-12, Duke went on a 3-0 run to take a 15-13 lead at the media timeout.
Stanford came out of the break on a 7-2 run to grab a 20-17 lead, one that would not relinquish. The Blue Devils got it within one – 23-22 – but Stanford secured a 2-0 lead on a kill.
Neither team hit great, as Duke finished at .111, while Stanford sat at .146.

Set 3 – Duke 25, Stanford 21

As had been the trend all night long, it was a back-and-forth affair, with the teams splitting the first 10 points. The Blue Devils won six of the next eight points to lead 11-7 and force a Cardinal timeout.
Duke continued to lead and a kill by Goss put Duke up 15-10 at the media timeout. The Cardinal did not cut the Blue Devils lead to smaller than three.
Duke sent the match to a fourth set on a big kill from Goss. Moravec (7) and Zubchevich (8), combined for 15 ills and one error in the frame. Duke hit a blistering .436, for one of its best offensive sets of the season. Stanford was still efficient at .326, but Duke did just enough to slow them down.

Set 4 – Stanford 31, Duke 29

In the closest set of the year, neither team led by more than three. The frame saw 17 tied scores and eight lead changes.
The Cardinal held a slim lead – 15-13 – going into the media timeout, but Duke responded well and evened things up at 17-17. Both teams continued to trade points before Duke finally had its first set point opportunity – 24-23 – after a kill by Moravec. The Blue Devils couldn't cash in.
Duke was able to fend off a pair of set points by Stanford before the Cardinal finally clinched the match on a kill.
The teams combined 41 kills on 125 attacks. Moravec and Zubchevich each had eight kills in the frame, while Blyashov had eight for Stanford. The Cardinal hit .262, while Duke hit .188.

Notables

Stanford won the kill battle 69-67. Duke's 67 kills are its second-most in a match this season (69 vs. LIU). The Blue Devils 178 attacks are also their second-most in 2026.
The Cardinal had 67 assists, while Duke dished out 60. It's the fourth time this season Duke has recorded 60-plus assists.
The two teams finished with 80 digs each, a season-high for Duke. The Blue Devils had four players record 10-plus digs.
Neither team did much in the blocking department, as Stanford had eight and Duke had six.
Duke lost by a combined three points to Stanford (103-100), the fewest in the series history. Stanford is 9-0 all-time against Duke.
Friday marked the first time Duke won a set against a ranked opponent since Nov. 1, 2024, when it took No. 16 Georgia Tech to five sets in Durham.

Career Highs
Nataly Moravec

Attacks: 68, 2x
Digs: 18, 2x

Olivia Wayne

Solo blocks: 1, 2x

Taylor Williams

Digs: 16, 3x

Ashby Zubchevich

Kills: 28
Attacks: 60
Digs: 13, 2x

Up Next
Duke is back in action on Sunday, as it welcomes California to Cameron Indoor Stadium. First serve is set for 1 p.m., on ACCNX. Live stats will be available at GoDuke.com.

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