Duke heads back on the road this weekend with a chance to keep building on a strong offensive stretch, opening ACC play away from home Friday night at Virginia before heading to Virginia Tech on Sunday.
The Blue Devils enter the trip at 10-4 overall and 2-2 in the ACC after splitting a home weekend. Duke fell 3-1 to Georgia Tech, then answered with a sweep of Clemson, a result that pushed the team into the middle of the conference pack through two weekends of league action.
A big reason for the Blue Devils’ recent success has been the production of Ashby Zubchevich and Nataly Moravec. The pair combined for 60 kills across the two matches last weekend, with 30 apiece over seven sets.
Moravec paced Duke in the win over Clemson with 15 kills on .297 hitting, while Zubchevich added 13 kills on the opposite pin and Zoe Gillen-Malveaux chipped in 11 kills on .444 hitting. Duke hit .277 as a team in the sweep and held Clemson to a .143 attack percentage, marking the Blue Devils’ second straight sweep of the Tigers.
Against Georgia Tech, Duke grabbed the first set but dropped the next three in close battles. Zubchevich was the most dangerous attacker in that match, finishing with 17 kills on a .303 clip. The rest of the offense had a tougher night, and Duke finished hitting .198.
Setter Nikki Quinn has been central to Duke’s rhythm, especially in Sunday’s win. She ranked second in the ACC in assists per set last week with 11.71 and now leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with 11.10 assists per set. Quinn has 957 career assists.
The numbers around Duke’s offense continue to stand out. The Blue Devils lead the ACC in aces per set at 2.04, a figure that ranks 12th nationally, and Zubchevich sits second in the league at 0.58 aces per set.
Duke is also hitting .281 through 14 matches, good for 18th in the country. Last season, the Blue Devils ranked 285th nationally in hitting at .172.
Moravec and Zubchevich have both found another gear over the last month. Each has posted double-digit kills in the last 11 matches, and the two have combined for 367 kills during that stretch, or 8.74 per set. Moravec has piled up 199 kills over that run after a quieter opening weekend, and her kills per set average ranks 20th nationally while her points per set average is 22nd.
Zubchevich has been just as impactful in 2026. She ranks sixth in the ACC in kills per set at 3.96 and fifth in points per set at 4.73.
Her 29 aces rank third in the ACC and 31st nationally. She has six double-doubles this season, including two in ACC play, and she is one of only two Blue Devils, along with Moravec, with triple-digit kills and digs.
Duke’s balance shows up beyond the pin hitters, too. Mailinh Godschall has started at libero in every match and leads the team with 172 digs.
She has reached double figures in digs in 12 of 14 matches, with a season-high 17 coming on the road against LIU. Her 1,000th dig came in Duke’s win over Belmont.
At the net, Breonna Goss and Gillen-Malveaux have given Duke another layer of production. Goss leads the team with 56 blocks, while Gillen-Malveaux has 50. They have also combined for 174 kills on .359 hitting.
Virginia comes into Friday’s match after a 0-2 trip to Northern California, losing 3-1 to Cal before being swept by No. 13 Stanford.
The Cavaliers opened ACC play with a 3-2 road win over Clemson and a 3-0 loss to Georgia Tech. Virginia was picked 11th in the preseason ACC coaches’ poll with 119 points and finished last season 13-17 overall and 6-14 in league play.
Duke has controlled the series with Virginia, holding a 59-15 overall edge, including a 30-7 mark at home, 27-8 on the road and 2-0 in neutral-site matches.
Virginia Tech has had a tougher first half of the season, entering the weekend at 4-9 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. The Hokies’ only conference win came on the road against Clemson, 3-1.
Their other victories this season have come against Kent State, Coppin State, Old Dominion and Clemson. Reese Hazelton leads Virginia Tech with 112 kills, followed by Destiny Walker with 105.
The Hokies were picked last in the preseason ACC coaches poll with 21 points.
Duke owns a 36-7 series lead over Virginia Tech, including a 22-2 record at home, 11-5 on the road and 3-0 in neutral matches.
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