Nov. 10, 2002

Box Score

Lafayette, La. - The University of Denver volleyball team lost to Louisiana-Lafayette (3-0) in Sun Belt Conference action Sunday at E.K. Long Gym in Lafayette, La. The loss drops the Pioneers' record to 5-18, 3-9 in conference play. Louisiana-Lafayette improved to 14-12, 8-4, and extended its home winning streak to 15 games.

Junior outside hitter Jennifer Karas (Granby, Colo./Middle Park HS) led the team with seven kills and six digs, but it was not enough to overcome the strong hitting performance from the Ragin' Cajuns who notched 52 kills and had a .231 hitting percentage for the match.

"This was not one of our better performances," head coach Beth Kuwata said. "We were simply outplayed today. Unfortunately, matches like this happen, and we will move on to the next challenge, which is to win two games at home next week and try to advance to the conference tournament."

The Pioneers struggled on offense in the first game, registering just five kills and hitting negative .114 for the game. Lafayette had 17 kills and hit .238 in game one to take the early lead. Lafayette won the next two games in similar fashion, earning 17 kills in the second game and 18 in the third. Denver rallied to score 24 points and had 11 kills in the final game.

The Denver front line, which was stellar in its previous outing against North Texas, notched six blocks, including three block assists from Andrea Baron (West Vancouver, Brit. Columbia/West Vancouver HS).

The Pioneers return home for its final two regular-season matches this weekend and will try to earn the eighth and final birth into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Denver will host New Orleans on Friday (7 p.m.) and South Alabama on Saturday (7 p.m.). Both matches will be played in Hamilton Gym at the Ritchie Center.

Match ResultsGame            1   2   3Denver          16  18  24 (5-18, 3-9)UL-Lafayette    30  30  30 (14-12, 8-4)