The University of Denver hit the road this week, traveling for two games in North Dakota. The first game of the week was at North Dakota State, where they lost in three consecutive sets. However, in Grand Forks, the Crimson and Gold redeemed themselves with a five-set victory at the University of North Dakota.
At North Dakota State, Denver dropped the first set with a score of 17-25. The game got off to a rough start as Denver found themselves trailing up to nine points behind North Dakota State. Denver volleyball fought hard throughout the set with lots of attempts for kills, but fell short in a set that was never able to be tied.
The second set of this match had a similar outcome, with Denver losing 18-25. The Crimson and Gold tried to claw themselves out of the hole they were in, but ultimately they were unable to pull ahead.
Set three was the final set of this match which ended in a score of 12-25. After losing the first point of this set, Denver was unable to recover, giving the game to North Dakota State.
Lots of impressive plays were made throughout this tough matchup; graduate student outside hitter Cassie Davis led the team with a total of nine kills. Redshirt sophomore Briley Decker put in the work for an impressive 15 assists.
Two days later, the Crimson and Gold traveled across the state to take on the University of North Dakota.
This was a riveting game, where Denver attempted to redeem themselves from their match earlier in the week. Set one was a tight match with lots of ties in the score and an intense fight for the lead, but unfortunately ended with Denver losing 26-24.
Set two started out strong with Denver taking the lead. The Crimson and Gold went on a four-point run to increase their lead to 16-10 mid-set. North Dakota then took back the serve to close the gap with a three point run. Denver finished strong with the set win, 25-20.
Set three was a Denver loss with a score of 23-25. Similarly to the first set, this game was tied on multiple different occasions, but ultimately Crimson and Gold did not pull ahead.
Denver came back strong in the fourth set with a score of 25-23, sending the team into the fifth set. Hitters like Davis came swinging strong during this game and the high attack percentage was a key component to winning this set.
The fifth set was yet another close fight, ending in Denver victory, 15-13. There were a lot of changes in the fight for the lead but at point 13 Denver was able to take control of the game to finish strong. DU won the match and their first conference game of the season.
The Crimson and Gold will be facing St. Thomas on Oct. 12 at home and will look to try to get another tally in the win column.
