Note: This article was finalized on Monday, Nov. 2 and does not take into account any events that have transpired since then.

On Oct. 30, the DU volleyball team hosted the Western Illinois University Leathernecks in Hamilton Gymnasium. The Pioneers are now  21-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. They are also ranked no. 2 in the Summit League behind Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

After being sidelined for a few weeks due to injury, the Pioneers were lucky to have sophomore Piyusha Boteju (Euless, Texas) back on the court. The setter had 18 assists in her returning match.

Assists for the night were split evenly between Boteju and lead setter, junior Monique Domme (Colorado Springs, Colorado). Domme had 19 assists against the Leathernecks.

The greatest show from the Leathernecks was in the first set. The Pioneers struggled to stay ahead with four lead shifts and 14 tie points throughout the set. Luckily, DU was able to hang on to win the first set 29-27.

The second and third sets went much smoother for the Pioneers. The second set had a hitting percentage of .389 (hitting percentage refers to the number of attacks that were not blocked relative to the total number of attempts. A higher hitting percentage means more successful attacks). Sophomore Kayla Principato (Rockville Centre, New York) and junior Nola Basey led the match with three kills each. DU won the set with a score of 25-12.

The third set had the second highest hitting percentage of the season with .552. Sophomore Cassie Baird (Indianapolis, Indiana) dominated the set with seven kills (10 attempts) and an ace. The score of the set was 25-16.

On Nov. 6, DU will host Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and IUPUI in Hamilton Gymnasium to close out the regular season.

The Summit League Tournament is scheduled to begin on Nov. 20 on the Pioneers’ home court.