Photo by: Andrew Fielding
In its final week of non-conference play, the DU volleyball team battled University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University in a pair of in-state showdowns, splitting the contests with a victory over No. 19 CSU and with a loss to UNC.
In Friday’s match, the Pioneers (3-9) defeated No. 19 Colorado State (7-3) in four sets (27-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-22), marking Denver’s first victory against a ranked opponent since becoming a Division I team 12 years ago.
Junior Faimie Kingsley led Denver with 15 kills and seven blocks, alongside redshirt senior Julia Cawthra’s 37 assists and libero Lyndi Johnson’s 15 digs.
This victory followed the Pioneers’ seventh straight loss on Tuesday, in which the Golden Bears (8-4) defeated them in three sets (18-25, 20-25, 22-25). In program history, the Pioneers are 7-27 against their in-state foe, despite winning four of the previous six meetings.
Denver started the first two sets with early leads, falling behind in the second part of the game.
The final set was hard-fought, with four tied scores during the final 10 points. Kingsley again led the team with 10 kills and Cawthra contributed 27 assists.
“It would be nice for us to compete a little harder,” said head coach Beth Kuwata after last Tuesday’s loss. “There are moments when we do it, but not long enough to make a difference in the game. We just need to play a little better than what we are playing right now. No matter who we play, we need to do a better job on our side of the net.”
Despite a rough non-conference schedule that produced only two home wins, the Pioneers have high ambitions for the upcoming conference season. Kuwata said she intentionally scheduled an extremely difficult non-conference schedule in an effort to gain as much experience as possible.
Looking forward, Kuwata has high expectations for the conference season, which begins later this week.
“In the end, the goal is to win a conference championship,” said Kuwata. “We need to work at it every single day.”
The Pioneers take on Florida Atlantic (3-9) in their first Sun Belt conference game Friday at 7 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium. It will be the volleyball program’s final year in the Sun Belt Conference.
