Box Score DENVER The University of Denver volleyball team staged an amazing comeback to earn a hard-fought, five-game upset win (14-16, 10-15, 15-13, 15-7, 15-11) over Fresno State in the opening night of the University of Denver Invitational at Hamilton Gymnasium. With the win Denver improves to 4-5 with victories in four of its last five games, all at home. Fresno State falls to 6-3.
Senior outside hitter Sarah Kaye (Aurora, Colo. / Smoky Hill) led all players with 20 kills and added a team-high 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season, while junior OH Kellie Savage (Arvada, Colo. / Arvada West) added 17 kills and 11 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
The Pioneers were able to overcome the loss of sophomore middle blocker Laurie Young (Fort Collins, Colo. / Fort Collins), who dislocated her shoulder on an attack attempt at the start of the fourth game. She will have surgery in two weeks and miss the remainder of the 2000 season. Young, who hit .241 and led Denver with a 1.57 blocks-per-game average in six matches for the Pioneers this season, was a 2000 preseason all-Sun Belt Conference selection.
Several newcomers stepped up in Young's absence, including junior MB Kristin Savage (Arvada, Colo. / Arvada West) who led all players with a .571 hitting percentage for the match. In addition, freshman OH Jenn Karas (Granby, Colo. / Middle Park) had a match-high six blocks and contributed four key kills down the stretch.
A lot of times when someone gets hurt, people realize that they have to step up and we did that tonight, said Denver head coach Beth Kuwata. The people that came in the last two games really stepped up their level of play. I can't think of anyone tonight that didn't make a big play right when we needed it. I saw people do things tonight that I haven't seen them do before. Olympia Hughes stood up in a pressure-packed situation, and Jenn Karas had a great match. We've been talking about fighting for the past couple of weeks, and it was our defense of all things that we fought with.
In the night's first match, Butler (6-3) rebounded from a close second game to sweep Marshall, 15-6, 17-15, 15-3. BU's Keely Norris led all players with 19 kills, while Sara Boyles had nine for Marshall (2-7).
Play ends Saturday with four matches starting at 11 a.m. and concluding with Denver and Butler at 7:30 p.m.
DENVER VOLLEYBALLDenver Invitational at Denver, Colo. (Hamilton Gymnasium)MATCH 1: Butler 3, Marshall 0 1 2 3Marshall (2-7) 6 15 3Butler (6-3) 15 17 15MARSHALL: Kills 37 (Sara Boyles 9); Digs 68 (Shannon O'Connor 15, Jodi Fick 15); Blocks 7.0 (Boyles 4); Assists 35 (Meredith Osterhoff 18).BUTLER: Kills 53 (Keely Norris 19); Digs 73 (Kylie Galbraith 17); Blocks 9.0 (Norris 6); Assists 49 (Galbraith 42).T: 1:25. A: N/A.
MATCH 2: DENVER 3, Fresno State 2 1 2 3 4 5Fresno State (6-3) 16 15 13 7 11DENVER (4-5) 14 10 15 15 15FRESNO STATE: Kills 77 (Shauna McQuaid 19, Christy Burnett 18); Digs 60 (Leilua Satele 13, Burnett 12); Blocks 7.0 (Lindsay Closs 4, McQuaid 3, Malia Malu 3); Assists 71 (Brittney Pearson 35).DENVER: Kills 66 (Sarah Kaye 20, Kellie Savage 17); Digs 63 (Kaye 12, Savage 11, Ashlynn Andrus 11); Blocks 13.5 (Jenn Karas 6, Laurie Young 5, Lulu Sewell 5);Assists 59 (Clarice Golesh 50).T: 2:18. A: 130.
