The DU women’s volleyball team’s season came to an end on Dec. 2 in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship against Stanford University at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California. DU is still seeking their first tournament win in school history.

Denver entered the matchup with a 23-8 record, but would lose in three straight sets (25-12, 25-22, 25-20) to the Cardinal. The team was shaky and inconsistent in the beginning, but fought back hard in the final two sets.

Junior Kayla Principato (Rockville Center, New York) led the team with 13 kills and mustered a scorching .480 clip. She will return next season for the Pioneers as an integral right-side hitter.

In senior outside hitter Nola Basey’s (Lyons, Colorado) final game as a Pioneer, she recorded eight kills, seven digs and a .318 clip. She joined both the 1,000 kill and 1,000 dig club during the regular season for DU, becoming only the fifth player to accomplish both in the program’s history.

Second on the team in assists was senior setter Monique Domme (Colorado Springs) with 16. She leaves the program ranked No. 12 all-time with 1,427 assists in her DU career.

Senior hitter Moni Corrujedo (El Paso, Texas) recorded five kills on the night, but finished with a disappointing -.043 clip. Her 1,155 career kills ranks her eighth all-time in the Pioneer record books.

Despite losing in the first round of the tournament for a third consecutive year, a 23-9 record marks a successful campaign for Denver. The team will graduate five seniors this year, with four of them having played crucial roles in 2016.

With a new set of freshmen in 2017, four returning juniors and improved play from younger players, it is likely that DU volleyball will have continued success in the future.