DU’s women volleyball team proved why they are ranked No. 7 in Volleyball Magazine’s Oct. 2’s Mid Major Poll. The Mid Major Poll takes into account all teams not in what is known as the “Power Five” conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12). They jumped two spots up from their previous ranking of No. 9. 

The Pioneers are also are ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in aces/set with 2.11 aces per set. They made five more aces on Friday night and tallied up 16 kills in the course of Friday’s match.

DU’s women’s volleyball stayed perfect in Summit League play following a clean sweep of University of South Dakota on Fri, Oct. 5. With the Friday win, the Pioneers improved to 15-1 for the season and 4-0 in Summit League play. Senior Emma Willis (La Jolla, Calif.) tallied her 500th career block during the matches, with 90 blocks for the season.

On Sun, Oct. 7, DU wracked up yet another win, this time against Summit League opponents North Dakota.

The Pioneers easily took the first set 25-20 but dropped a highly contested second set 23-25. They immediately bounced back to take the next two sets 25-17 and 25-20. The national leader in aces per set, Denver tallied up eight more aces over the course of the four sets. Sophomore Lydia Bartalo (Colorado Springs, Colo.), ranked No. 4 in the nation in aces, served two more service aces on Sunday, bringing her total to 36 service aces.

“It’s great to end a long road trip with a win against a very good team. North Dakota plays very well at home and they challenged us throughout the match,” said Head Coach Tom Hogan. “We executed well when we played a clean game but struggled when we compounded difficult situations. We look forward to getting back to Denver and preparing to face Purdue Fort Wayne this Friday in Hamilton.”

The Pioneers return to Hamilton Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 12 to play Purdue Fort Wayne at 7 p.m., followed by a Sunday match at Hamilton against Western Illinois at 1 p.m. MST. There will be free pizza at the Friday game for DU students.