Oct. 7, 2001

Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Kristin Webster had a match-high 19 kills and hit .469 to lead New Mexico State to a 3-1 (30-22, 30-21, 27-30, 30-24) win over the University of Denver in Sun Belt Conference volleyball action Sunday afternoon at the Pan American Center.

Sophomore right-side hitter Olympia Hughes (Casper, Wyo. / Natrona County HS) led the Pioneers (6-8, 2-3 SBC) with 14 kills and contributed seven digs. Senior setter Clarice Golesh-Burch (Lakewood, Colo. / Mullen HS) had a team-high 11 digs and 39 assists for Denver, while freshman Mary England (Castle Rock, Colo. / Chaparral HS) had a match-high-tying five blocks.

With the win, New Mexico State (9-7, 5-1 SBC) retained its lead atop the Sun Belt West Division.

New Mexico State came out swinging, pounding 15 kills to Denver's 14, yet registered only six errors to the Pioneers' 10 in the first game. The Pioneers more than doubled their hitting percentage in the second game, but the Aggies slammed 18 kills to take a 2-0 lead. Denver limited New Mexico State to a paltry .025 percentage in the third, thanks to sloppy hitting and strong blocking by the Pioneers.

"We can't stop anything at the net right now. That's making it tough to defend," said head coach Beth Kuwata. "It's not that we can't do the things we need to do offensively and defensively, we just can't do them consistently."

The Pioneers step back out of conference play for their next match, this Tuesday, Oct. 9, against Front Range rival Wyoming. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Hamilton Gymnasium.