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The DU women’s volleyball team picked up two wins this past week when they defeated University of Louisiana- Monroe Thursday and University of Louisiana- Lafayette Saturday, before dropping a grueling five game match to the University of New Orleans on Sunday.
In Thursdays match-up, the Pioneers traveled to Monroe, La. and defeated the Warhawks of ULM by a close 3-2 margin.
The Pioneers won the first game of the match by hitting an impressive .429 percent and taking the game by a 30-25 score.
The Warhawks alternated wins in the next three games with DU winning two and forcing a fifth and decisive game.
Though the first four games were tightly matched, the fifth game was a route in favor of the Pioneers, as they thumped the Warhawks 15-4.
Five Pioneers finished in double digits for kills in the game. Senior Lisa Hunter led the way with 15 while chipping in with three blocks. Sophomore Clare Maxwell had a match-high 53 assists, while junior Alyssa Hampton added 22 digs.
The momentum that the Pioneers gained from Thursday’s win led to a dominating performance in Saturday’s match against Louisiana- Lafayette with a 3-1 win.
Led by junior Kim Muller, who led the game with 19 kills, the Pioneers lost the first game by a close 28-30 margin.
Despite the slow start, the Pioneers buried ULL in the next three games, winning by scores of 30-19, 30-27 and 30-23, respectively.
Along with Muller’s strong performance in which she hit an impressive .516 percent, Hunter once again played well, earning 18 kills, eight digs, and two solo blocks. Sophomore Holly Benson also helped out with 11 kills and 19 digs.
The win improved the Pioneers winning streak to a school record nine games.
Unfortunately, the win streak would end the next day, when the Pioneers lost a heart-breaking five game match to New Orleans 3-2.
After dropping the first two games of the match 24-30 and 23-30, respectivley, the Pioneers fought back to win the next two games 30-27 in each.
The Pioneers couldn’t get out of the hole that they dug, however, and dropped a very close fifth game by a score of 13-15.
Benson led the Pioneers with 16 kills, while Hunter once again had double digits in kills with 15 and added 20 digs.
The loss dropped the Pioneers to 19-10 overall and 12-5 in the SBC and into a tie with the University of North Texas at the top of the SBC West Division.
The Pioneers will close out the regular season by playing UNT in Denton, Texas at 6 p.m. this Saturday. The match will decide the winner of the SBC West Division.
