Duke pushed No. 15 Stanford to the edge on Friday night, but the Blue Devils walked away with nothing to show for it after a 3-1 loss inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The match had plenty of fight in it from Duke, which dropped the first two sets before taking the third and then dragging Stanford into a wild fourth frame that went all the way to 31-29. Duke had four chances to force a fifth set, but the Cardinal held on and escaped with the win.
Ashby Zubchevich turned in a huge night, leading all players with 28 kills on .317 hitting. She also matched her career high with 13 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Nataly Moravec was right there with her, finishing with 22 kills on .235 hitting and tying her career best with 18 digs for her sixth double-double of the year.
Together, Zubchevich and Moravec accounted for 50 kills, the most by a Duke duo this season. That pair had combined for 47 in last Sunday’s win over Notre Dame.
Duke finished with 67 kills and hit .258 as a team, with Nikki Quinn handing out 52 assists. It was her third match this season with 50 or more assists and the second straight game she has done it. Stanford finished with 69 kills on .280 hitting, and Julia Blyashov paced the Cardinal with 26 kills.
Mailinh Godschall led Duke with 21 digs, giving her back-to-back games with 20-plus digs. Taylor Williams also matched a career high with 16 digs, while Breonna Goss topped the Blue Devils with four blocks.
The opening set set the tone for how tight the night would be. Stanford burst out to a 7-2 lead, Duke answered with a 7-0 run of its own, and the Blue Devils later moved in front 20-17 after a Zubchevich kill. Duke reached set point at 24-23, but Stanford closed on a 3-0 run to steal the set 26-24.
The second set followed a similar script. Duke led 15-13 at the media timeout, only for Stanford to respond with a 7-2 surge and take control. The Blue Devils clawed within one at 23-22, but the Cardinal finished it off 25-22 to go up 2-0.
Duke finally broke through in the third. The Blue Devils won six of eight points to open a 11-7 lead, kept Stanford at arm’s length from there, and a Goss kill pushed them ahead 15-10 at the media timeout. Moravec and Zubchevich combined for 15 kills and just one error in the frame, and Duke’s offense was humming at .436 in a 25-21 set win that extended the match.
The fourth set was the wild one. Neither side led by more than three, there were 17 ties and eight lead changes, and both teams traded blows deep into the frame.
Duke got its first set point at 24-23 after a Moravec kill, but couldn’t cash in. The Blue Devils also fought off a pair of Stanford set points before the Cardinal finally sealed the match with a kill.
That last set featured 41 kills on 125 attacks between the two teams. Moravec and Zubchevich each had eight kills in the frame, while Blyashov added eight for Stanford. Duke hit .188 in the set, with Stanford at .262.
By the end of the night, Stanford had the slight edge in kills, 69-67. Duke’s 67 kills were its second-most in a match this season, and its 178 attacks were also its second-most in 2026.
The Blue Devils matched Stanford with 80 digs, a season high for Duke, and had four players finish with at least 10 digs. Stanford had eight blocks to Duke’s six.
The loss dropped Duke by a combined three points against Stanford, 103-100, the fewest in the series history. Stanford is now 9-0 all-time against Duke.
Friday also marked the first time Duke won a set against a ranked opponent since Nov. 1, 2024, when it pushed No. 16 Georgia Tech to five sets in Durham.
Duke returns to action Sunday against California at Cameron Indoor Stadium. First serve is set for 1 p.m. on ACCNX.
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