The women’s volleyball team returns home this week from The Windy City after taking two of three games at McGrath Arena in the DePaul Invitational this past weekend.
The University of Denver Pioneers are now 6-2 overall record.??
The Pioneers began the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Ball State last Friday.??
“Tonight’s match was a hard-fought battle for both teams,” said head coach Beth Kuwata. “It is important that we won, but it is even more important that we battled to deserve the win.”??
Leading DU to victory was senior Holly Benson who finished with a season-and-team-high 18 kills. Junior Clare Maxwell went double digits in kills with 10 and recorded 44 assists; making it the second time she has recorded over 40 assists in a match.??
DU out-blocked Ball State 24-18. This effort was propelled by sophomore libero Kacie Wikierak with 23 digs, and junior Emmy Davidsmeyer and senior Jacqueline Paul who each finished with seven blocks.??
“In the past we haven’t done so well in five set matches so tonight’s effort proved that our team in maturing,” added Kuwata. “We dug in and raised our level of play. It was a total team effort on both sides tonight.”??
The win propelled the Pioneers to a 6-1 overall record, the best start to a season in program history.
The win also came after the team swept all three of its opponents in the Pioneer Classic last weekend, which gave them a five-game winning streak.??
The streak ended with Saturday’s morning match against the University of Texas, San Antonio. DU had never faced UTSA prior to the match and they fell 3-2.??
“(The) match was tough because we were out-played,” Kuwata said. “They played great defense which made the difference in the match.”??
Two Pioneers finished the match with season-highs. Senior Kerry Porter recorded 17 kills and a .387 attack percentage, while Maxwell notched 56 assists.??
Saturday’s later match ended the tournament with a 3-1 win over the DePaul Blue Demons. The victory propelled DU into the runner-up spot behind UTSA who took the crown in the invitational. ??
All-Tournament team awards were given to Benson and Porter and UTSA’s Kendra Rowland received the tournament MVP award.?
“It’s nice to get a win against a big east opponent,” Kuwata said. “There are things that we need to improve on and we are looking forward to practice this week.”??
The Pioneers will take on Southern Methodist University (6-4) this Friday at 7:30 p.m. as hosts of the University of Denver Invitational in the Hamilton Gymnasium. The invitational will continue on Saturday with matches against Georgia State (0-9) at 12:30 p.m. and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (4-5) at 7:30 p.m.
