Duke Defeats Wake Forest, 3-2, in Conference Opener

Friday, September 25

Winston-Salem, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Duke University

9-2,1-0ACC

Wake Forest

6-6,0-1ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Duke	22	29	25	23	15	3
Wake Forest	25	27	18	25	10	2

Duke volleyball huddles after a point against Wake Forest on Friday, Sept. 25

Duke Defeats Wake Forest, 3-2, in Conference Opener

9/25/2026 10:05:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Duke volleyball opened ACC play by winning a thrilling five-set match, 3-2 (22-25, 29-27, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10), over Wake Forest on Friday night inside Reynolds Gym.

With the win, Duke (9-2, 1-0 ACC) has opened conference play with a win in each of the last three seasons and snapped its three-match losing streak to Wake Forest (6-6, 0-1 ACC). The victory also marked the first ACC victory for head coach Ahen Kim.

Duke got dominant performances from its outside hitters, as Ashby Zubchevich led the way with 19 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, while Nataly Moravec recorded 17 kills. Avery Hamlin (12) and Zoë Gillen-Malveaux (11) also added double-digit kills.

Duke hit .261 on the night, including .320 in its winning sets. Nikki Quinn had a strong night from the setter position with 49 assists.

Defensively, the Blue Devils held the Demon Deacons to .162 hitting. Duke had a season-high 16 blocks with Breonna Goss' career-high eight leading the way. Gillen-Malveaux added seven and Zubchevich a career-high five.

Quinn paced Duke with a personal-best 13 digs, which gave her the first double-double of her career. Moravec (12) and Zubchevich (11) also added double-doubles with double-digit digs.

How it Happened
Set 1: Wake Forest 25, Duke 22
• Wake Forest got off to a good start to open the match, winning eight of the first 11 points. The Blue Devils were able to find a little bit of rhythm but still trailed 15-10 going into the media timeout.
• Down 19-14, Duke won four straight points to cut its deficit to one after a block from Quinn and Goss. The set stayed close until the end, but the Demon Deacons closed it out on back-to-back kills from Lyla Stewart.
• Duke hit .167 in the opening set, with Gillen-Malveaux registering five kills on eight attempts. The Blue Devils had five blocks and were led by Goss with three.

Set 2: Duke 29, Wake Forest 27
• The beginning of the second frame was more tightly contested than set one, as the two teams played even through the opening 20 points. Duke pulled ahead 15-13 at the media timeout.
• Wake Forest found momentum towards the end of the set, jumping ahead 23-21 and seemed to be in a prime position to take a 2-0 lead. Duke, however, got a big kill from Moravec and a hitting error from Wake Forest to even things up.
• On the Blue Devils' third set point of the night, Zubchevich got a perfect set from Quinn at the left pin and beat the block to even the match at 1-1.
• Duke hit .237 in the frame, while getting six kills from Zubchevich and five from Moravec.

Set 3: Duke 25, Wake Forest 18
• Duke carried its momentum from the set two victory and jumped ahead 3-0 early in the third frame thanks to three aces from Zubchevich.
• The Blue Devils continued to extend their advantage and led 15-10 at the media timeout. Duke built its lead to 19-12 and were not threatened for the rest of the frame.
• A kill by Gillen-Malveaux clinched the set and gave the Blue Devils a 2-1 match lead.
• Duke got scoring all throughout the lineup, as five players registered a kill en route to a .312 hitting clip. Moravec led the way with five. Wake Forest hit .056 in the frame.

Set 4: Wake Forest 25, Duke 23
• Much like the third set, Duke jumped ahead early, leading 7-3 and continued to build its advantage and led by as much as five (16-11).
• Wake Forest was able to cut the deficit down to 18-16 before Duke pushed the lead to three after a Zubchevich kill. Wake Forest responded with a 6-0 run to take a 22-19 lead.
• Duke got back within one late, but Wake Forest evened the match at 2-2.
• Wake Forest played more efficient offense, hitting .300 and recording two fewer kills than Duke.

Set 5: Duke 15, Wake Forest 10
• Wake Forest came out on fire in the final set, taking an early 4-1 lead and forcing a Duke timeout. The Blue Devils won the next three points to even the score.
• Tied at 7-7, Duke jumped ahead on a block by Zubchevich and Goss, and did not trail again.
• The Blue Devils closed out the victory with a big kill from Hamlin, who had four kills in the set.
• Duke hit .412 and held Wake Forest to .000, while recording four blocks.

By the Numbers
• Duke won the kill battle 63-55, while also hitting nearly 10 percent better than Wake Forest.
• The Blue Devils dished out 58 assists compared to the Demon Deacons' 50.
• Another key advantage for Duke was its eight service aces, including five from Zubchevich. Kyndal Ganoe also recorded the 50^th ace of her career in the final set.
• On defense, Duke had 59 digs while also winning the blocking battle 16-14.

Career Highs
Zoë Gillen-Malveaux
• Had a career high in attacks with 25.

Breonna Goss
• Had a career high in total blocks and block assists with eight.

Nikki Quinn
• Had a career high in digs with 13.

Ashby Zubchevich
• Had a career high in total blocks and block assists with five.

Up Next
Duke is back in action on Sunday, as it travels to Raleigh to take on NC State at 1 p.m., on ACCNX. Live stats will be available on GoDuke.com.