The women’s volleyball team is off to a more successful start than last year with a close win over rival Wyoming in four games last week.
They women controlled the game in the first two games, winning by a score of 30-25 and 30-27, but in games three and four the playing became sloppy.
“We started to make some mistakes like we were making last year,” said Head Coach Beth Kuwata. The Pioneers lost the third game, but went on to finish the match by winning the fourth game with a score of 31-29.
In volleyball, teams need to win three of five scheduled games, with each games going to 30 points. Points are awarded when the ball hits the floor, so a team doesn’t have to be serving to win points. This is called rally point play.
The Pioneers have already hosted two tournaments this year, the Denver Invitational Sept. 5-6 in which Central Florida, Colorado, Illinois State and Miami of Ohio played. DU lost to CU in the finals of the tournament.
After the win against Wyoming, the Pioneers found themselves with a record of six wins and two losses, only one win less than their total win last year.
Next on the schedule is a trip to Maine to take on the University of Maine, Connecticut and Yale, before returning home for two conference matches next week.
The women will be in Maine Sept. 19-20 with the next home games coming on Sept. 26 and 28.
“We don’t know much about the teams out there,” said Kuwata about the teams the Pioneers will face. “We look to keep winning and become more confident.”
“This year we have cut down in errors we made last year, especially, hitting errors,” said Kuwata. “Our pre-season went very well and we worked on some things that allowed us to be in the position we are now.”
The Pioneers are picked to finish third on their side of the Sun Belt Conference, but Kuwata believes that the team is better than that.
“There is no reason why we can’t win our side if people stay healthy,” she said.
The arrival of five freshmen has Kuwata excited because now other players will be able to move back to positions they feel more comfortable playing.
The Pioneers next home game will be Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium against South Alabama.
