Duke came out of Reynolds Gym on Friday night with a win that had all the ingredients of a conference opener: momentum swings, long rallies, and a fifth set that finally belonged to the Blue Devils. Duke outlasted Wake Forest 3-2, taking the match 22-25, 29-27, 25-18, 23-25, 15-10 to begin ACC play on the right foot.
The result gave Duke a 9-2 record overall and a 1-0 mark in the league, while also extending a streak that has quietly become a habit: the Blue Devils have now opened ACC play with a win in each of the last three seasons. It also snapped a three-match losing streak against Wake Forest, and it was the first ACC victory for head coach Ahen Kim.
Duke’s outside hitters drove the night. Ashby Zubchevich finished with 19 kills and hit .333, Nataly Moravec added 17 kills, and Avery Hamlin and Zoë Gillen-Malveaux chipped in 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Nikki Quinn ran the offense with 49 assists and added a personal-best 13 digs for the first double-double of her career.
The Blue Devils also won the match on the defensive end. They held Wake Forest to .162 hitting, piled up a season-high 16 blocks, and got a career-high eight blocks from Breonna Goss.
Gillen-Malveaux added seven blocks, and Zubchevich set a career high with five. Moravec finished with 12 digs and Zubchevich with 11, giving both players double-doubles of their own.
Wake Forest grabbed the first set 25-22 after building an early cushion and hanging on late. Duke trailed 19-14 before a quick four-point burst trimmed the margin to one, but the Demon Deacons closed it out with back-to-back kills from Lyla Stewart. Gillen-Malveaux had five kills in the opener, and Goss led Duke’s blocking with three.
The second set was the turning point of the night, and it took everything Duke had to get it. The teams stayed even through the opening stretch before Duke moved in front 15-13 at the media timeout.
Wake Forest later pushed ahead 23-21 and looked ready to take command of the match, but Moravec delivered a key kill and the Demon Deacons followed with a hitting error to pull Duke even. On Duke’s third set point, Zubchevich got a clean set from Quinn on the left pin and beat the block to finish off a 29-27 win.
That comeback flipped the match. Duke rode the momentum into the third set, where Zubchevich opened with three aces and the Blue Devils raced out to a 3-0 lead.
They were up 15-10 at the media timeout, stretched the margin to 19-12, and never let Wake Forest back into it. Gillen-Malveaux ended the set with a kill to put Duke ahead 2-1, and the Blue Devils hit .312 in the frame while Wake Forest managed just .056.
Wake Forest answered in the fourth. Duke again started fast, leading 7-3 and later 16-11, but the Demon Deacons chipped away and closed to 18-16 before Duke briefly regained a three-point edge on a Zubchevich kill. Wake Forest then ripped off a 6-0 run to go ahead 22-19 and held on for a 25-23 win to force a fifth set.
In the deciding frame, Wake Forest came out hot and led 4-1 before Duke steadied itself. The Blue Devils won the next three points to even the score, then took control at 7-7 on a block from Zubchevich and Goss.
They never trailed again. Hamlin closed the match with a kill, part of a five-set effort in which she had four kills.
Duke hit .412 in the final set, held Wake Forest to .000, and added four blocks.
The numbers backed up Duke’s edge. The Blue Devils finished with 63 kills to Wake Forest’s 55, hit nearly 10 percent better, and posted 58 assists to the Demon Deacons’ 50.
Duke also had eight service aces, including five from Zubchevich, and Kyndal Ganoe recorded the 50th ace of her career in the final set. On the back line, Duke finished with 59 digs and won the blocking battle 16-14.
Several Blue Devils also left with career marks. Gillen-Malveaux had a career high with 25 attacks, Goss set career highs in total blocks and block assists with eight, Quinn posted her career-best 13 digs, and Zubchevich recorded a career high in total blocks and block assists with five.
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