In their third and fourth consecutive road games, the Pioneers were defeated by San Jose State 3-0 on Thursday and by Utah State 5-3 on Saturday, dropping to 2-5 in the Western Athletic Conference and 8-9 on the season.
The injury-ridden women’s volleyball team faced both opponents with several key players missing from its usual lineup, such as freshman outside hitter Michelle Swope and senior libero Lyndi Johnson.
On Thursday, senior Faimie Kingsley led the team with 12 kills and five blocks. Juniors Brea Muhle and Alex Turgeon each contributed six kills. However, the team was unable to top San Jose State (8-9, 4-3 WAC) and fell in three sets (15-25, 18-25, 23-25).
“Faimie is a warrior for us,” said head coach Jesse Mahoney. “She is one of our most efficient attackers right now, and probably the best blocker in the conference. She has been a bright spot for us in this mini losing-streak.”
Sophomore setter Bailey Karst had 17 assists while libero and fellow sophomore Kate Acker finished with eight digs.
“[San Jose State] played well out of the gate, and it took us too long to match their intensity,” said Mahoney. “Fai and Colleen scored well for us, but we struggled when we couldn’t feed them the ball. We need to get healthy and back in rhythm, as the road through the WAC doesn’t get any easier.”
The team then traveled to Utah State (12-5, 7-1 WAC) for their fourth consecutive road game on Saturday. Because DU hosted the first presidential debate on Oct. 3 in the Ritchie Center, the team has not hosted a home game since Sept. 22.
The first three sets of the night were competitive, with the Pioneers losing the first by only two points and winning the next two. In the fourth set, however, they lost momentum by getting stuck in a rotation. They eventually fell 3-2 after struggling in the fifth set 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 21-25, 7-15.
Junior Colleen King had a game-high 22 kills, while fellow junior Alex Turgeon added 11.
“Colleen had a monster match offensively,” Mahoney said. “I was proud of the way our team competed tonight against the top team in the WAC.”
Utah State is currently ranked first in the WAC, while DU sits seventh.
Sophomores Kate Acker and Sammy Berger tallied 17 and 13 digs, respectively. Fellow sophomores Bailey Karst and Cassie Ronda posted 10 digs apiece. Karst also totaled 47 assists.
“There are a lot of positives we can take out of this match tonight,” said Mahoney. “We know we have been hit by injuries, but there were times tonight when we played really good volleyball. We’re competitive and feeling good about ourselves; we’ll play well down the stretch.”
The Pioneers host Texas State and Texas-San Antonio on Thursday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, in Hamilton Gymnasium.
“Out of the 17 matches this season, we’ve only had two at home,” said Mahoney. “We do need to get a breakthrough win on the road, but it’ll be nice to be at home in the comfort of our own gym with a home crowd for support.”
