The University of Denver women’s volleyball team had a pair of games split this last week. On Wednesday the Pioneers traveled to Colorado Springs and played the Air Force Academy. The Pioneers swept Air Force with three game scores of 30-21, 30-26, and 30-24. This victory for the Pioneers improved their away record to 3-3 and their non-conference record to 7-5. Head Coach Beth Kuwata spoke about how important it was for the team to get a victory after last weekend’s 3-1 and 3-0 conference losses to Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. “To come back to Colorado and get a victory really helped our mental preparation for Friday’s game against Florida International,” she said.Because of the midweek game, the Pioneers only had one day to prepare for each match. Coach Kuwata indicated that, “because of the time crunch, we really had to stay focused for both of our matches this week.” The team was clearly focused as they were able to sweep Florida International on Friday after a sweep of Air Force on Wednesday. These two sweeps improved the overall team record to 12-7, and 5-2 in Sun Belt Conference competition. Friday’s match was never in doubt as the Pioneers cruised to two 30-19 game wins in the first two games. The third game showed a much higher level of play by Florida International. The Pioneers were able to hold on to win the game and the match with a final game score of 30-26. Head Coach Kuwata believed that “the reason we were able to finish off the third game so strong was the aggressive and physical play of Lisa Hunter. She puts so much emphasis behind her hits that she easily leads by example.” Lisa Hunter definitely led by example through a match-leading 16 kills and 17 points for the Pioneers. Lisa indicated that the team’s ability to pull out the third game was “the confidence we had built up from the first two games. We had no doubt we would close out the third game for a sweep.” Lisa Hunter and her teammates will continue their conference schedule next weekend when they travel to Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday and North Texas on Sunday afternoon. Head Coach Kuwata indicated a “strong, positive outlook for next weekend as we face off against two more conference rivals.”This weekend proved successful on and off the court for the Pioneers athletics program. Friday’s night game was the first Jam the Gym for the Pioneers volleyball team, and seemed successful as the attendance was 468. Head Coach Kuwata handed out two $100 gifts to two different fans of the game. She indicated that “the support has been great, and that tonight for our first Jam the Gym it was pretty successful and I hope the fans continue to come out to support our team.” The fans were loud and proud on Friday, and the Pioneers definitely did not disappoint the fans with their fantastic play throughout the match.